A Tale Of Tails
by Sol Winterfang71
Summary: This body is a curse given to me by a mad man. It's a constant reminder of my burden. I used to think everyone hated me when I was younger, but it's only grown worse ever since I was unwillingly given this form. I gave up on my dream to become Hokage because of it. I almost lost the will to live because of it. Now, a certain snow rabbit has changed my mind and my heart... Rated M
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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A Tale of Tails

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Chapter One

Deep within the dense forests of one of Konoha's more secluded training grounds, a multi-colored blur darted through the trees, ricocheting between their trunks at incredible speeds as flashes of razor sharp blades darted through the air in various directions. Even as the blur double-backed and looped around through the woodlands as if following an unseen track, each thrown blade hit its mark dead-center regardless of where the targets had been placed. After hitting every single target that had been set up in the large clutch of trees, the blur finally shot out of the foliage, skidding for several feet before finally coming to a complete stop in a three-point crouch.

Standing back up to their full height of 5'7", the figure lightly dusted himself off, bearing a slender and lithe athletic build balanced between strength and speed. However, they didn't exactly look normal. Looking more like an anthropomorphic fox, the person's piercing icy blue eyes glanced off to the side, their predatory slit pupils adjusting to the unfiltered light of the sun's glare. Obviously male, the teen bore digitigrade legs that ended in clawed paws, clawed paw-like hands, two long backswept fox-like ears atop his head that twitched at the slightest noise, and a long fox tail extending from the base of his spine. His body was covered in a dense coat of short red-orange fur that turned into black on his fingers starting at the knuckle, his eyes ringed with black that ran back towards his temples and up into his fox ears. His face had a slight stubby muzzle-like shape to it, but it wasn't much.

He was clad in a pair of grey three-quarter length pants held up by a plain black leather belt that bore the engraved metal plate of a Konoha hitai-ate as a belt buckle, a sleeveless mesh top over his furry torso, skin-tight black fingerless elbow-length gloves on his hands and forearms with blood red metal bracers strapped to his arms over them that had three short claw-like protrustions of crimson metal sticking out just above his knuckles, black cloth bindings wrapped around his forelegs from his paws to his knees, blood red metal greaves of similar design as his bracers strapped to his shins that covered the tops of his paw-like feet, and a blood red scarf wrapped around his neck that was pulled up over his nose like a face mask while the rest of it trailed half-way down his back behind him.

An X-shaped harness made of several black leather straps criss-crossed his torso over his top that bore a dozen black kunai holsters scattered all around it that were all within easy reach of his nimble hands, three more strapped to the side of either thigh, and a larger-than-average dark grey equipment pouch centered along his lower back just above his tail. Set at his hips were a pair of black leather holsters that craddled his twin silver trench knives, both having been custom-made for a more comfortable grip with jagged knuckle guards.

"Hmm...Impressive." Hatake Kakashi praised casually with an eye smile aimed at his student, a stop watch held in his hand as he leaned against a nearby tree that stood alone in the clearing. "You finished thirteen-point-four seconds faster than your previous record. You've gotten much faster than you were last week."

"Hmph. Of course I have. I've been training harder then I was back then." The fox-like genin grumbled with a huff, hooking his thumbs in his pockets as he easily balanced on the padded balls of his paw-like feet, his toes subconciously flexing slightly and causing his claws to lightly scrape at the ground. "Besides, my speed is my greatest weapon. It stands to reason that I would try to get better."

"Now, now, Naruto. No need to get so defensive." Kakashi sighed out with a disarming wave of his hand, pocketing the stop watch. "No one's judging."

"Hmph..." Naruto snorted quietly again as he looked away and glared off to the side, something that made Kakashi frown slightly beneath his mask.

He still couldn't believe what had happened to the poor boy. As a young child, he had been kidnapped and experimented on by Konoha's greatest traitor to date; Orochimaru. No one could really figure out what the man's reasoning was behind singling out Naruto that night, but then again, no one could predict what that mad-man was going to do next or even imagine what he was thinking about. In the end, Uzumaki Naruto had been changed in more ways than just his body and DNA. He had gone from a bright-eyed and hyperactive kid to the steely-eyed and focused sixteen year old he was now. It had been by sheer chance that the base he'd been at had been found and raided by the ANBU. He was brought to Konoha and it was discovered that he was, in fact, the same child that had gone missing less than two years prior to his rescue.

Regardless, there were definitely some lasting physical and psychological scars from the entire ordeal...

"I'm gonna go get my knives." Naruto mumbled before suddenly sprinting back into the forest in the form of a grey, orange, and red blur, leaving the jounin behind. Sighing heavily again, Kakashi closed his lone eye and ran a hand through his gravity-defying silver hair.

"Sometimes, I just can't help feeling like I'm failing as a sensei when it comes to that boy." The jounin mumbled out to no one in particular as his hand slid down to rub the back of his neck.

"Don't worry. He'll come around eventually." Haruno Sakura commented from her spot on a branch above him, lounging across it on her back while staring up through the thin canopy of leaves the tree provided, keeping the sun out of her eyes. Her bright bubblegum pink waist-length hair had been pulled back into a top-knot ponytail, her piercing emerald green eyes peering out from between her loose chin-length bangs. "At least, that's what I like to believe."

Like usual, she was dressed in a pair of really baggy dark red capri pants with a white sash wrapped around her slim waist with one end of it left to hang down to her knees in the front, a sleeveless dark red midriff-baring top that hugged her upper torso snuggly with her family's white ring emblem decorating the middle of her chest and upper back, dark red full-finger elbow-length gloves on her hands and forearms, black kunoichi sandals on her feet, and her hitai-ate tied around her waist over her sash with a strip of dark red cloth. Set behind either hip was a basic equipment pouch while a single kunai pouch had been strapped to either thigh.

"Yeah, well...Don't hold your breath." A more disgruntled voice spoke up from deeper amongst the branches on the other side of the tree. Leaning against a thick tree limb, Uchiha Sasuke kept his eyes closed and his arms crossed over his chest, dressed simply in a pair of black pants, a dark midnight blue turtleneck top with three-quarter length sleeves that fit him like a second set of skin with a cloth face mask attached to the collar that was pulled up over his nose and the Uchiha fan symbol decorating his back, and black shinobi sandals on his feet with a basic kunai holster strapped to his left thigh and an equipment pouch set behind his right hip. "He's been like that for the past nine years. I think that's about as 'cuddly' as he's gonna get."

"Hn. People said the same thing about you, Sasuke-kun..." Sakura countered with a smirk, her eyes glancing over to her team mate and old crush. Sasuke didn't open his eyes, but his brow knitted in a slight scowl without deeming her response worthy of a verbal retort. Thinking of something, Sakura frowned. "He should have been back by now. It doesn't normally take this long..."

"I'll bet my next paycheck that he went for another one of his 'runs'." Sasuke remarked, making Sakura pout.

"No one in their right mind that knows him would take that wager." Sakura grumbled. "That's a sucker's bet..."

"At least I was never stupid enough to bet against him in the past." The Uchiha responded, getting an annoyed half-hearted glare from Sakura and an eye smile out of Kakashi.

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Elsewhere, Naruto was blurring through the heavy woodlands, letting the rushing wind deafen the chaotic storm of thoughts surging around in his mind as he pushed himself to his absolute limit. His claws ripped at the earth under his padded paw-like feet with every step he took, his sharp-sighted eyes darting from one thing to another as he weaved through the trees, bouncing from tree trunk to tree trunk to help make any course alterations he made all the more easier and quicker without losing speed. Even though he was only a genin, a month out of the Academy, Naruto was the fastest of his generation and even faster than most of the chuunin in the village.

Launching himself from one last tree, Naruto took to the air as his feet left the crest of the cliff-faced hill, closing his eyes and letting the wind soothe him in its comforting embrace. Spiraling through the air as gravity slowly started to grab hold of him once more, Naruto shifted his center of balance with the help of his tail, waiting an extra second before finally opening his eyes. Twisting and flipping his body one last time, Naruto resisted the urge to hook his claws into the ground again as his feet made contact with the grassy slope of the opposing hill, the two split down the middle by a narrow river. Sliding down the slope, Naruto leaned back slightly before eventually falling to his back as he slowed down more than enough to stop.

Just lying there, his chest heaving with each labored breath, Naruto just stared up at the partly cloudy sky with a blank look on his humanoid vulpine face, his arms stretched out to either side of him. As he laid there, his mind completely void of thought, Naruto slowly became aware of how his tail was twitching ever so slightly. Lifting a hand up, he lazily dropped it on his tail, trapping it under his padded palm to keep it from twitching any more. He hated it; his tail. When it came to the people that knew him well enough, they could tell almost exactly how he was feeling at that moment based solely off what his tail was doing. Why did it have to be subconsciously controlled?

Shaking his head as he got back to his feet, Naruto dusted himself off and started heading back towards the village. He'd deal with Kakashi lecturing him about leaving without permission tomorrow when they meet up in the morning. For now, though, he just wanted to go home. To keep from dealing with the villagers' glares of hatred and whispers of fear and distrust, Naruto kept to the roof tops, appearing as a mere blur of grey, orange, and red as he sped across them in the direction of his home, right along the far edge of the residential district near one of Konoha's largest and most heavily forested parks. It didn't take him long to reach his apartment building, easily balancing himself on the narrow metal guard rail lining the edge of the top floor balcony.

Standing up straight and balancing himself on it as if he were standing on solid flat ground, Naruto boredly stalked along its length until he reached his door. Finally dropping from the railing as he fished his keys out of his pocket, Naruto unlocked his door and put them away, but didn't open the door right away. Inconspicuously using one of his claws, he hooked it on a thin, almost unnoticable metal ring that was connected to a somewhat elaborate tripwire-pressure plate combo trap that would go off the moment the ring was released from the door being opened. Had anyone opened his door without knowing about it, they would have been turned into a pincushion the moment they stepped over the thresh hold and into his apartment.

It had happened a couple times in the past, thanks to the stupidity of his more zealous haters...

The ones that openly debated the fact he was even human...

The ones that swore he was the Kyuubi no Kitsune incarnate...

Ear twitching and rotating slightly to focus in on a faint noise off to the side, Naruto smirked slightly without looking towards the source. Heading straight for the kitchen, he pulled out a bag from the cupboard and filled a small bowl with its contents. A soft mewl came from the ground beside him before the being that made it hopped up onto the kitchen counter with weightless grace. Smiling warmly, he gently scratched the cat behind its ear as it sniffed at the food he had put out for it.

"Sorry, Ren. I got a little side tracked again." He quietly apologized to the pitch black feline as it sat on its haunches and started eating, purring quietly as it did. Putting away the bag of cat food, Naruto went to his fridge and retrieved the container of left-over sushi he'd saved from last night's dinner. Leaning back against the counter beside his pet, Naruto ate his own food in silence, paying no mind to the emptiness that plagued his apartment...

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"Fuck you, Naruto." Sasuke growled out at his fiery red-orange furred teammate with a small glare, hissing in pain while Sakura rolled her eyes and finished tending to the multitude of minor scratches on his hands and face. Naruto, who had been staring off to the side, glanced over at Sasuke with a flat look, slowly blinked once, and then looked away again. As apathetic as he seemed, the slight twitch in his tail showed that he found a little enjoyment from Sasuke's discomfort. "It's because of you that we keep getting stuck with tracking down that damn little furball."

"You really think a fox is going to help us if it doesn't want to?" Sakura quipped in response, making Sasuke all the grumpier about his predicament while one of Naruto's ears twisted around slightly to focus in on what she was saying. Although she didn't notice it, Sakura still knew it was wise to watch what she said about her distant blue eyed teammate. Even if she didn't think before she spoke. "They're capricious and rather whimsical. If they see no point in something, they won't do it. You were just dumb enough to think Naruto would actually want to give us a hand...and really, Sasuke? A toy mouse? _That_ was your fool proof plan to catch Tora?"

"Hn..." Came the Uchiha's trademark grunt as he glared off to the side, actually pouting a little at the mild chastizing he was getting from the pinkette. Stuffing his bandaged hands in his pockets, Sasuke shuffled off to the other end of the balcony to brood in silence, leaving Sakura behind in the middle of it, their wayward teammate crouched atop the railing at the other corner with his elbows braced on his knees. Glancing between the two, Sakura sighed quietly before deciding to try her luck again.

"Hey...What are you thinking about over here?" She questioned softly with a warm smile, trying to be friendly; not that it really worked, anyways.

"What importance are the thoughts of a _fox_ to you?" Naruto shot back quietly, looking at her out of the corner of his eye as his ears flattened back and his tail slowly swayed from side to side cautioningly, the claws on his feet gripping the stone border he was perched on. Sakura flinched immediately at his response, feeling guilty for her choice of words a minute ago while talking with Sasuke. Shaking it off a moment later since it was quite common for him to take such small things very personally, Sakura sighed softly and turned around before leaning back against the rail a couple feet away from him.

"I'm sorry...Poor choice of words. I didn't mean to offend you." She sincerely apologized, keeping her eyes down on the ground as she spoke. The only signs that showed Naruto had calmed down were his claws releasing the stone rail and his tail no longer swaying, though his ears were still pinned back with aggitation. "I'll try to watch what I say next time."

"Hmph...That'll be the day..." Naruto mumbled under his breath as he stood and stalked along the railing until he was near the middle of the balcony, his hands in his pockets as he stared out over the village of Konoha. Before Sakura could react to his words, Kakashi appeared not too far away in a puff of white smoke, alerting them to his sudden appearance via Shunshin. Not even looking at the man, Naruto was the first to speak. "So...what's our next mission today? Painting another old man's fence or babysitting some merchant's spoiled brat again?"

"Neither. I decided to reward the three of you with your very first C-rank mission." The silver haired jounin returned with an eye smile as all three genin looked at him in surprise, though Naruto's eyes shined with curiousity more than anything. "We've been hired on for a bodyguard job from here to Wave Country until our client has finished the construction of a bridge. We'll be gone for at least a couple weeks, so pack accordingly and meet me at the main gate in half an hour."

"Hai!" Sasuke and Sakura acknowledged rather eagerly before they took off while Naruto stayed where he was, staring at Kakashi inquisitively, his head cocked to the side ever so slightly.

"I thought C-ranks were only given out to chuunin...We're only rookie genin, so why the sudden change of pace?" Naruto questioned as he crouched down so that he and Kakashi were more eye level with each other, his tail swaying once more, only with a barely contained eagneress to explore outside of Konoha's walls.

"I thought you of all people would have appreciated a new challenge." The jounin's answer made Naruto glare off to the side with a faint blush staining his cheeks beneath his fur and scarf. Chuckling for a moment, Kakashi shook his head slightly. "I figured it was about time to put you three to the test. You've been doing pretty well in training, but you won't get much experience or realize your full potential if your skills aren't put to actual use."

"Hmph...Whatever." He huffed while standing up atop the railing, turning back towards the village. After a moment of silence, though, Naruto turned his head ever so slightly, but not enough to look behind him. "For what it's worth...thanks. Not many call me a person these days."

"Oh...Well-" Kakashi trailed off when Naruto suddenly lunged from the railing and dropped to the rooftop of the shorter adjacent building, darting off to his apartment. "...You're welcome..."

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"They're all a bunch of brats..." Tazuna grumbled, pausing to take a swig from the sake bottle in his hand. "Especially the super hairy one in the back. Hey! Are you even human?"

"Naruto..." Kakashi mumbled cautioningly to the genin in question, the teen's eyes having narrowed angrily on Tazuna instantly upon hearing his comment. Noticing the almost invisible shift in Naruto's body language, Kakashi lashed out to grab the boy, but he'd already moved. In the blink of an eye, Naruto closed the gap between him and Tazuna before coming to a full stop directly in front of the bridge builder, their noses barely an inch apart as Naruto growled in his throat, his hands still stuffed in his pockets.

"Keep talking shit, old man..." Naruto snarled quietly through his scarf-mask, totally disregarding the sudden fear that filled the man's eyes. After a couple seconds, he let out another quiet growl before walking back to his place at the back of the group, ignoring the sharp-sighted glare he got from Kakashi. "Let's just get going already."

"Alright, let's go ahead and get moving. We've got a good bit of walking to do before we reach Wave Country." Kakashi instructed with Sakura and Sasuke flanking Tazuna as the bridge builder started walking. Grabbing Naruto by the shoulder, Kakashi waited a moment before walking alongside the fox-like teen and speaking quietly so the others wouldn't overhear them. "I know you deal with a lot of people treating you poorly because of your physiology, but next time you threaten a client like that, there _will_ be consequences. Understood?"

"Loud and clear, Scarecrow." Naruto quietly growled out, his eyes narrowed irritably as he jerked his shoulder out from under the jounin's hand. Walking a little faster to catch up to the others, Naruto left Kakashi behind him while drawing one of his kunai, idly twirling it on one of his fingers to help distract his mind from all of the hatred and abuse he'd been forced to endure since he could first remember. Why, he didn't know. Why did that snake fuck pick him for his twisted experiments? Why'd he have to take on the appearance of a fox, a creature that had become the symbol of hatred and pain to the villagers of Konoha? Why him?

Why him?!

Catching the scent of something on the wind, Naruto was snapped out of his thoughts after getting a few miles down the road, his hand snatching the kunai in a reverse-grip as his ears folded back and his eyes narrowed. As a quiet growl rumbled in his throat, Sasuke slid up beside him casually. However, if one looked close enough, they'd notice how his eyes were slightly narrowed as well, glancing from side to side in search of some kind of threat.

"You noticed, too?" The Uchiha mumbled quietly, not really expecting a response from Naruto. He'd spent enough time around Naruto to learn the basics of how to read his body language. The moment Naruto stopped playing with his kunai, Sasuke knew immediately that the gut feeling he had was not just paranoia. Something wasn't right.

"Poison. I can smell it." Naruto mumbled back quietly as he listened for anything out of place, his eyes still glancing around as his tail started to flick back and forth with aggitation. He didn't like being hunted. "We're not alone anymore..."

"Try to keep up, you two. We've still got a long way to go." Although he'd noticed the sudden tension in his two male students behind him, Kakashi didn't pay them any attention, instead reading his book. However, he was not oblivious to the cause. Slowing down just a little bit, Kakashi watched as Naruto and Sasuke moved a little quicker to catch up to Sakura and Tazuna, though he noticed how Naruto put at least one of his teammates between him and Tazuna; the boy really needed to chill about some things, though he understood why he held grudges...

It wasn't long after that as they strolled past a harmless puddle off to the side of the road before the water started to rise up and take the form of two individuals. Both wearing a scarred hitai-ate of Kirigakure, the near identical twins immediately moved to spring their trap, a bladed chain connected between their opposing clawed gauntlets. With a quick synchronized flick of their wrists, the chain was quickly wrapped around Kakashi before he could react and pulled tight, trapping him in place.

"What?!" Kakashi exclaimed as he was bound, catching everyone else's attention. Almost immediately, Sasuke and Naruto fell into their personal fighting stances while Sakura stood guard in front of Tazuna.

"One down..." One of the twins wrasped out through his rebreather, his hitai-ate bearing two horn-like spikes on it. A moment later, they pulled as hard as they could, causing their chain to shred Kakashi's body into a half dozen different pieces.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura cried out while Naruto, snarling angrily, rushed forward while channeling chakra into the knuckle spikes on his bracers. Instantly, twin sets of three crimson claw-like blades the same length of the average tanto extended from his knuckles.

"Two down!" The one horned twin growled out as he and his brother flanked the charging, albeit strange, genin while lashing out with their bladed chain. They did not expect for the weird boy's blue eyes to flash red as he twisted his body into a horizontal lunging spin, his chakra-infused claws easily shredding their chain before they could wrap him up in it. Landing between them, Naruto immediately dropped into a crouch while kicking at the legs to one of them, forcing him to jump back. Capitalizing on it, Sasuke engaged the two-horned assassin while Naruto focused on the one-horned assassin.

However, instead of fighting the genin, the twin assassins rushed to attack Tazuna, thinking the pink-haired girl guarding him would be easy prey. They weren't prepared for the fox-like teen to charge one of them at blinding speeds, planting a foot in the one-horned rogue's side before kicking off with enough strength to send him flying into a tree. Springing off of the one-horned Kiri rogue and launching himself towards the other, Naruto twisted his body into another horizontal spin, his claws outstretched. Unable to react in time, the two-horned nuke-nin was bestowed a good number of cuts and gashes all across the front of his torso, his left arm, left side, and across the front of his thighs.

"ARGH!" The wounded assassin cried out painfully as he hit the ground and tumbled for a few feet while Naruto easily landed on his feet just beyond where the ambusher had been running. Just before he could press the advantage, Kakashi landed in front of Tazuna, totally unharmed, confusing and shocking his students along with Tazuna.

"Nice work, guys. You did better than I had first thought." Kakashi praised casually with an eye-smile, getting only an annoyed growl from Naruto as he retracted his claw-blades. Ear twitching at a sound, Naruto kicked off the ground at full speed, slamming his right elbow into the one-horned rogue's chest hard enough to smash him back against the tree a second time, knocking him out with the force of the impact. Along with cracking a rib or two. "Still...What would two Kiri chuunin want with a simple bridge builder, I wonder?"

"Uchiha." Naruto barked out before tossing a spool of wire at Sasuke, pulling one out for himself. As Naruto started binding the one-horned rogue, Sasuke moved to take care of the other, giving Kakashi and Tazuna time to talk for a moment in privacy as they stepped off to the side. Not feeling too nice at the moment, Naruto grabbed the assassin by the back of his top and started dragging him over to the other one, dropping him on his face carelessly and waking him up.

"Ngh...Fucking freak..." The one-horned assassin growled out as he rolled over and glared at Naruto, angry that he'd been beaten so easily by a runt. Glaring right back at him, Naruto pulled his scarf down and bared his fangs at him in a snarl, snapping his jaws with a lurch. Startled by the sudden action, the one-horned assassin flinched back slightly, only to get kicked across the face by the tailed genin, nearly knocking him out again. "Ugh...Damn, you kick hard."

"Deal with them before I lose my temper and kill them..." Naruto snarled at Sakura and Sasuke as he made his way across the path, leaning back against a tree with his arms crossed over his chest and head bowed with his eyes closed. He was slowly losing his eagerness to venture anywhere outside of his own apartment, let alone beyond Konoha's walls...

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	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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A Tale of Tails

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Chapter Two

"Hey, Naruto...How long have you had those claws?" Sakura inquired, trying to make small talk after a relatively silent journey for the past half hour since they were dropped off by Tazuna's contact, who snuck them into Wave Country via his boat. "We've never seen you use them before during our spars or training sessions."

"I've had them for a while...and I never used them in spars because there was no need for them." Naruto mumbled back in return, still a little on edge after having to deal with the Demon Brothers, as they were called, the day before.

If there had been one assassination attempt, more were bound to be made. Especially after they learned the truth about why Tazuna wanted protection. Another reason why he was on edge was the sudden...surge of power he felt during the fight. He didn't know what it was, but it made him just a little faster and stronger, his claw-blades just a little sharper. It also sent his temper through the roof. He had a personal rule about killing and just from a little taunting, he almost broke it.

"Oh. So, are they built into your bracers or something?" Sakura asked out of genuine curiousity, eyeing her teammate's limited amount of armor. Naruto rolled his eyes as his tail stopped flicking from his rattled nerves, though his ears were still pinned back a little.

"Something like that." He responded, his uneasy tone switching to his usual mildly annoyed tone, which was normal for him; he didn't really like people all that much. Holding one hand up a little and looking at it, a faint smile formed under his scarf in rememberance. "They were a gift from someone I know when I started attending the Academy. They were made using fuinjutsu so the blades can retract and extend on command."

"Wow! It must have cost them a small fortune to get those for you. Lucky." Sakura chimed with a smile, something that startled Naruto a little more than he had expected. He wasn't used to people smiling sincerely at him and with his sense of smell, he could tell if someone was 'lying' to him. It wasn't fool proof, but he could usually tell if someone had an ulterior motive or was trying to hide any ill intent from him. With Sakura, though, she was almost always sincere with him...even though she poorly worded some of her comments about him. That was when she smirked at him teasingly. "Got any other tricks up your sleeve that you haven't shown us yet?"

"Stick around long enough and you might find out." Naruto mumbled quietly as he put a bit more distance between them, signaling the end of the conversation. It wasn't so much that the topic was annoying him, but more along the fact that he heard something out of place not too far away in the dense forested area flanking the cleared out pathway they were taking. He couldn't tell for sure what it was, but it wasn't normal...not to him. As the tension in his muscles built up, Naruto reacted on instinct when a dry twig snapped, a kunai already flying free of his hand in the sound's direction.

"What is it?" Kakashi inquired as Sasuke went to check the area the kunai had landed, only to return a moment later with a pure white rabbit held in one hand, the thrown kunai held in the other. Although Sakura was a little confused and Tazuna left clueless, the look Sasuke and Kakashi shared communicated the same thing going through Naruto's head as he pulled his scarf down a little. Sniffing at the air with his ears perfectly erect and twitching at the slightest noise, Naruto knew instinctively that they weren't alone any longer. That was when Kakashi saw Naruto's head snap towards one direction in particular, his eyes narrowed, ears folded back, and fangs bared in a slight snarl. He also caught sight of something else that made his lone visible eye snap wide open. "EVERYONE, GET DOWN!"

Not a moment later, a spinning object came flying at everyone at just the right angle in order to behead them all in a single pass. It would have, too, if Sakura hadn't tackled Tazuna to the ground while Kakashi did the same to Sasuke. Falling backwards and drawing his legs in, Naruto's back touched the ground just as the giant bladed weapon reached him, only for the fox-boy to suddenly kick out at the weapon's center and send it flying off course, embedding it high up in a tree off to the side. Kicking his legs a second time to spring back to his feet, Naruto didn't hesitate to draw his trench knives, fully prepared for a fight while the others got back up as well.

"Well...If it isn't Kiri's A-rank missing-nin, Momochi Zabuza..." Kakashi began rather casually, though it was rather obvious that the muscles under his skin were bunching up like a snake about to strike. Standing atop the giant blade buried in the tree trunk was the man in question, staring down at them from his perch on the zanbatou's long handle. "Everybody, get back. This one is on an entirely different level than those other two."

"I've got to say, no one's ever been able to catch on to me so fast, kid. I'm impressed." Zabuza remarked, ignoring Kakashi in favor of focusing his eyes on the strange fox-child with the silver-haired jounin. "I take it the ears and tail aren't for looks, huh? What's your name?"

"Uzumaki Naruto." The blue-eyed fox-boy growled out quietly, taking a moment to pull his scarf back up over his nose without taking his eyes off the man. A damn zanbatou...He was strong, but not that strong. He would have to stay in constant motion because the moment he got caught by that blade, he was done for. He wouldn't be able to block that kind of weapon head-on. Then again, hit-and-run tactics were his forte...

"I'll be sure to remember that name...after I kill all of you, that is." Zabuza remarked in mock praise before his gaze hardened with blood lust towards the end. Tensing his body as he grabbed the handle to his sword, Zabuza slid his gaze back from the fox-like genin to Kakashi, smirking slightly beneath the bandages wrapped around the lower half of his face while the silver-haired man pulled his hitai-ate up, uncovering his left eye. "But it seems I'll have to deal with Sharingan Kakashi first."

 _'Sharingan?'_ Sasuke thought to himself suspiciously, his narrowed eyes darting over to Kakashi for a moment before jumping back to Zabuza as the man kicked off the tree and lunged toward the small lake a dozen meters away from his position. Forming only a single seal with one hand while the other was raised above his head, Zabuza kept a cold gaze as the thin mist in the area started getting thicker and thicker.

"Kirigakure no jutsu." Was all the man said moments before he vanished from sight, the visibility dropping down to damn near five feet in front of them in seconds. Nervously chewing on her bottom lip, Sakura armed herself with a pair of kunai, her eyes darting back and forth while she, Sasuke, and Naruto stood in a protective triangular formation around Tazuna. Apart from spars with her teammates, she'd never been involved in an actual fight and...it scared her. No, it terrified her...

"Sakura. Don't worry. I'll protect you guys even if it kills me." Kakashi reassured before glancing at her over his shoulder, eye smiling at her. "I don't let my comrades die."

"We'll see about that..." Zabuza said from seemingly all around them within the mist, only for him to drop down from above in the middle of the group, his blade in hand and held across his back with Tazuna directly behind him and Naruto in front of him. "It's over."

"Kamisori no ha Senpu!" Naruto snarled as he spun on one foot, twisting his body and kicking off the ground in an almost breakdance style flip as his claw-blades sprouted from his bracers and even his greaves. Instantly, Zabuza was slashed to ribbons by the almost instantaneous whirlwind of scarlet blades that retracted back into his armor pieces by the time his feet touched back down on the ground. However, Zabuza merely collapsed into water, having only been a Mizu Bunshin. Glaring down at the puddle of water, Naruto almost didn't hear Zabuza as he came up behind him, but he wasn't fast enough to react, the man's blade already in motion to cleave him in half.

"Focus!" Kakashi barked out as he slammed his shoulder into Zabuza's swordarm, shoulder-tackling the man back a few feet while stopping the sword short of hitting its mark, a kunai lodged in Zabuza's side where his kidney would be. As Zabuza, being another Mizu Bunshin, once again turned to water, Kakashi's eyes went wide when Zabuza entered his right peripheral field of view, sword already in mid-swing once more. This time, it was Kakashi to reveal himself to be a Mizu Bunshin as Zabuza's zanbatou cleaved him in half at the waist.

When Kakashi tried taking advantage of the opening by attacking Zabuza from behind, however, the rogue swordsman instantly lashed out behind him in the form of a powerful back kick, sending Kakashi flying a few meters before landing in the shallows of the lake. Pausing instead of pushing the advantage and going for Tazuna, Zabuza glared down at the makibishi littering the ground between him and his target while Kakashi started getting back up. Just as he started wondering why the water felt strangely heavy, he realized his folley when Zabuza, the real one, burst from the water behind him, already going through handseals.

"Suiton: Suirou!" The 'Demon of the Bloody Mist' called out as he held one hand out towards Kakashi's back, only for the water around the Konoha jounin to encapsulate him in a sphere of water, trapping him in place. "Hehe, you almost had me there, Kakashi! Impressive, but not good enough! Now, sit back and behave yourself while I finish things up here..."

As his Mizu Bunshin turned away from the makibishi, the three genin of Team 7 tensed up, each one unnerved for one reason or another. Sasuke was realizing just how far down the food chain he really was at the moment, Sakura was waging an internal war with herself, and Naruto...he wasn't exactly unnerved; he just felt like a cornered animal. Trench knives still drawn, he hunkered down a little bit more, keeping his center of gravity lower to the ground while raising his arms in a sort of boxer's guard.

"Wearing hitai-ate and acting like real ninja...In my opinion, someone doesn't become a ninja until they've survived brushes with death on numerous occassions." Zabuza's water clone taunted cruelly. "Basically, once you get good enough to be put in my handbook, you can call yourself a real ninja...but you three are just a bunch of brats dressing up in your parents' old clothes..."

Immediately after finishing his statement, the Mizu Bunshin rushed Naruto before he could react, kicking him hard enough to launch him back while ripping off the fox-boy's hitai-ate amongst the chaos. Keeping his feet under him as he slid to a stop, Naruto growled audibly with his head bowed, his arms still raised in a guard and crossed in front of him. Dropping the hitai-ate and stomping on it, Zabuza's clone sneered at the fox-boy haughtily, bracing his sword on his shoulder.

"GET OUT OF HERE! YOU CAN'T BEAT HIM! HIS CLONE CAN'T GO FAR FROM HIS BODY, SO JUST RUN AND SAVE YOURSELVES!" Kakashi shouted despite the water surrounding him, though he had to force himself from saying any more, lest he waste what little oxygen he still had. Shaking a little from the tension in his muscles becoming too great, Naruto slowly lowered his arms until his fists were on either side of his body at chest-height, slowly lifting his head until his eyes were visible. Zabuza, with his clone mirroring him, flinched slightly upon seeing the uncontrollable fury that burned in his now crimson eyes.

"If you think I'm going to run like a scared animal with my tail between my legs...and risk being blamed for your death..." Naruto hissed angrily as he started subconsciously flooding his body with enough chakra to form a dim blue-ish hue around his chakra-conductive trench knives, forearms, and forelegs. His scarf having dropped back down around his neck, Naruto's bared fangs were fully revealed as what looked like steam hissed out of his mouth in one sharp gust. A moment later, he surged forward much faster than his teammates had ever seen him move, appearing in front of the clone in mid-stride without slowing down in the slightest. "THEN YOU NEED TO STOP LYING TO YOURSELF! KAGE BUNSHIN!"

Appearing in twin puffs of smoke on either side of him, Naruto and his two clones moved in perfect synchronization, the two flanking fox-genin pulling ahead and lashing out at either side of the Mizu Bunshin's upper body, their bodies spinning like razor-edged tops that shredded the Mizu Bunshin. Reaching the still-airborne liquid remains of the Mizu Bunshin, Naruto formed a single handseal with his right hand, triggering a special trick he'd learned to do with his clones, causing them to instantly Henge into a pair of foldable Demon Windmill shuriken. Grasping the unfurled giant throwing stars as he was drenched by the water from Zabua's clone, Naruto threw himself into a spin before launching both weapons simultaneously.

"Tricky little brat!" Zabuza snarled as he twisted his upper body to avoid the first one from cleaving through his unoccupied left arm and side before jumping up just enough to dodge the second that was aimed at his legs. However, with another half-seal from Naruto, both clones reverted back to their normal forms, either one already armed with twin handfuls of kunai. While still in mid-air, they loosed their volley of throwing knives at Zabuza's back, the jounin's eyes going wide with shock at how coordinated the boy was with his clones. As well as how strategic the boy was. "Shit!"

 _'He's never shown these kinds of tactics during team training!'_ Kakashi thought to himself as Zabuza was forced to remove his hand from the Suirou to keep from being turned into a pincushion, freeing him in the process. _'Just what has he been hiding from us all this time?'_

"Never...touch...my hitai-ate...ever again." Naruto snarled as he put his hitai-ate back on, his burning red eyes never leaving Zabuza as he did. "I went through hell to get this thing and I won't let some cocky, punkass bastard take it away from me...and about surviving brushes with death? You know nothing about what my life has been like...so don't act like you know me!"

"Looks like I struck a nerve." Zabuza growled out with a sadistic grin, his eyes narrowed with annoyance and blood lust as he glared at the fox-boy, his cheek bleeding from a minor cut caused by one of the kunai thrown at him. "Good, because you struck one of mine, too, you fucking fox!"

"Your fight is still with me." Kakashi reminded as he got between Zabuza and his team once more, a kunai grasped in one hand and his Sharingan eye still uncovered. "Nice work, Naruto...but remind me later to have another talk with you about disorbeying direct orders after I take out the trash."

"You arrogant motherfucker..." Zabuza snarled angrily. "I'm gonna make you eat those damn words."

xXx

"Where are you going?" Kakashi inquired from his seat at the table, still recovering from his fight with Zabuza two days ago. Who they suspected to be alive still due to the circumstances revolving around the unknown supposed hunter-nin that had shown up to 'finish' the rogue swordsman. Naruto paused at the door for a moment, glancing back at the jounin over his shoulder.

"Does it really matter? I only do one specific thing in my free time and that's train, something Sakura and Sasuke are already busy with." The fox-boy countered before facing forward again. "Are you really going to reprimand me for doing the same thing as my two other teammates?"

"No...Just don't push yourself too hard this time." Kakashi admitted, letting the issue go without a hassle as Naruto left, closing the door behind him. Heading into the woodlands not far from the house, Naruto immediately took to the tree tops, ricocheting from one tree to another at high speeds as he headed deep into the forest where he wouldn't be disturbed. He was still plagued with questions concerning his recent spikes in anger and power. Kakashi hadn't said anything recently, but in private, Sasuke and Sakura had both made comments about how his eyes had turned red during the fights with the Demon Brothers and with Zabuza...

Was it the Kyuubi's doing, caused by the demon spirit's chakra that had been filtering into his body since the night of his birth? If so, why was it manifesting now of all times? If not the Kyuubi...then what was it? What was making him lose control of his temper so easily and causing the sudden bursts of raw, primal power? He needed to figure out what was causing it before it became a problem and got someone hurt...

Coming to a stop near a small, shallow canal that fed a small lake, Naruto crouched down at the shore before dropping to all fours, dipping his muzzle-like mouth into the cool waters. It had been naturally filtered into freshwater, so he had no worries about it having adverse effects on him and it smelled clean enough to drink. It was while he was still drinking that his ears caught a sound nearby, making him freeze in place while his eyes jumped up to the opposite side of the lake. Kneeling down across the way was...an admittedly cute looking girl. Wearing a pink yukata with simplistic swirl-like designs scattered across the fabric, she was searching for something amongst the grass and brush.

Going against his better judgement for some reason that escaped him, Naruto slowly retreated back into the treeline before stealthily moving closer to her, overly curious as to what she was doing. Eyeing the basket beside her, Naruto saw only a decent collection of what he guessed to be herbs, medicinal ones. When the wind suddenly shifted, Naruto caught her scent and immediately recognized it; she was that fake hunter-nin. Eyes narrowing and ears folding back, Naruto slowly reached for a kunai, but his hand froze as he watched a bird land on the young woman's shoulder. Turning her head slightly to look at it, the girl suddenly smiled before the small avian flew off once more...

 _'What are you doing, Naruto? Stop hesitating...'_ He mentally snarled at himself, his hand frozen in place just inches from one of his kunai holsters. Glaring down at the ground in thought, he idly noticed the patch of herbs at his feet, the same kind the girl was collecting. _'Don't. Even. Think about it...'_

"Excuse me, miss." Someone suddenly spoke up from behind her, startling Haku and making her stand up, turning around to face the new arrival. Eyes widening upon seeing only that fox-boy from Konoha, Haku forced herself not to break cover, just in case he didn't know who she was. That's when she noticed the pile of small, leafy weed-like plants he had in his hands. "Sorry for sneaking up on you. It's just...you missed a patch of them over there."

"O-Oh, thank you." She responded as she gently accepted the medicinal herbs from him, his clawed and fur-covered hand lightly brushing against her thumb; she idly noted how soft his fur felt. Putting them in the basket, she focused back on the fox-boy, half-way feigning uncertainty due to his appearance; it was honestly a little unsettling, but nothing too bad. She bowed slightly, deciding to show some manners to keep up with her cover as a civilian girl. "I'm Haku."

"...Naruto..." He reciprocated, only a little hesitantly. She...wasn't scared of him? Granted, she was the hunter-nin with Zabuza, but there wasn't any fear or disgust or hatred towards him coming from her. "Um...You aren't...bothered by my appearance?"

"No, not really. If anything, you look kind of like a cute little red fox." Haku returned, complimenting him with a...sincere smile? Internally surprised with herself, she watched his eyes perk up slightly at the comment, his eyes alight with curiousity and...was that hope? He must have had a hard life because of his appearance. Probably didn't have many friends, if any at all. Still, the way his ears perked up was kind of cute, making her giggle slightly in reaction.

"Um...T-Thanks...I guess." Naruto mumbled a little awkwardly, his slight blush hidden by his fur and scarf as he looked away, scratching at the back of his neck. He didn't understand. She was his enemy, she obviously knew who he was...but he couldn't detect even the slightest bit of deceit from her; she was being whole heartedly honest with her answers and her body language told him that she was perfectly calm, if not the slightest bit tense. A little tension was to be expected, though, when someone was in the presence of someone that was supposed to be their enemy. Confused with his own actions even more, Naruto gestured towards her basket. "Do you, uh...Do you want some help?"

"It'd certaintly make things easier on me, but only if you want to." Haku answered, smiling at him again as she knelt back down to keep plucking more of the herbs. Internally, she was half expecting an attack while her back was turned, only for him to walk around in front of her and crouch down. Picking one of the leafy plants, Naruto pulled his scarf down a little and curiously sniffed at it; definitely medicinal herbs, probably used for muscle aches and pains. A definite symptom of being put into a near-death state via accupuncture. When he suddenly sneezed from the scent being a little too intense, Naruto was surprised to hear her giggle again. "So, what brings you out here so early in the morning, Naruto-san?"

"The only thing I ever really do anymore; training." He answered honestly, though his previously light hearted mood became a little dampened. Haku noticed the sudden change in his mood, but decided not to pry too much; it might raise suspiciouns.

"Training? You wouldn't happen to be...a ninja, would you?" She asked curiously, feigning ignorance. Choosing to play along with her, he lightly tapped a claw against the hitai-ate plate he used for a belt buckle, nodding to wordlessly answer her question. "Wow, that's incredible. I've never met a ninja before. So, why were you training, if you don't mind me asking?"

"To get stronger..." Naruto answered, his response a little subdued by his change in mood. Excluding his knowledge of her being the hunter-nin, he immediately picked up on the shift in her scent, denoting that she had just lied to him about having not met a ninja before; even without his sense of smell, it was an obvious lie. To him, at least.

"Why is that? You already seem plenty strong to me." Haku asked, honestly wanting to know. She wanted to know what drove him. Depending on his answer, she would make her final decision about him.

"..." Naruto hesitated for a moment, not really knowing why he felt compelled to tell her the truth. Depositing the herbs he had collected into her basket, Naruto sighed softly while getting back to collecting the medicinal herbs, avoiding eye contact with the girl as he answered. "I don't have much. I live in a shitty apartment with a stray cat I'd taken in a couple years ago. I don't have any friends. Most everyone in my village either hates me or they're afraid of me...except for a very select few...I train in order to get stronger so that I can better protect what little I have."

"I see..." Haku mumbled softly, a little taken aback by his response. It was more than what she'd been expecting. She was also caught off guard by how...familiar it was. A sad smile formed on her face as she mirrored Naruto, collecting the last few herbs around them. "A long time ago when I was still little, my mother told me that when someone has something important to protect, that is when they become truly strong."

"Yeah...An old man I look up to like a grandfather told me something similar when I was younger." Naruto responded knowingly, glancing over as Haku stood up with her basket in hand.

"I think I've got all I need now. Thank you for the help, Naruto-san." Haku thanked him politely, bowing slightly out of respect as she smiled at him. "For what it's worth, I have no doubt that you are truly strong. Let's meet again some day."

"Yeah." Naruto answered as he stood up while Haku started walking away. Before she got too far, though, she paused for a moment to look back at him.

"Also...I'm a boy." Haku lied, having spent a good long while trying to keep her gender a secret to everyone around her apart from Zabuza. Naruto simply smirked humorlessly, his eyes closed.

"No, you're not." He countered before tapping his nose, looking at her again as he smiled sadly. "You can't fool my nose, Hunter-san...Have a good day."

Haku was shocked into silence, watching as he simply walked away with his hands in his pockets. He...He _knew_? And yet he still...Haku paused for a moment, her opinion of the fox-boy changing yet again. Even knowing that she was an enemy, he still helped her gather the medicinal herbs she needed to help Zabuza. Knowing she was an enemy, he had still been honest with her whenever she asked something. Granted, they hadn't exchanged any major details apart from their names, but...

A small smile formed on her face as she started walking back towards the hideout she and Zabuza were staying in. Tucking a few strands of her dark hair behind an ear, Haku made the journey back in a comfortable silence, her smile never leaving her face for the rest of the day...

xXx

Later that night, Naruto laid back against the roof of Tazuna's home, staring up at the cloudless night sky, his hands tucked under his head with a blank expression on his face. He couldn't stop thinking about her. After they parted ways that morning, he'd double-backed towards Tazuna's so he wasn't quite so far away before getting around to actually training. While his team mates were working on the Tree Climbing exercise, he'd been working on his Water Walking technique, having learned the Tree Walking technique from a book he found in the Shinobi Library shortly after graduating from the Academy.

When he revealed that he'd known about her true identity, she'd been shocked and a little nervous, having been down-wind of her at the time. What got to him, though, was the sudden change in her scent right after that. She seemed...almost _happy_ for a moment. Why, though? Why would she be happy that he knew who she really was? Sighing quietly, Naruto closed his eyes and decided not to think about it anymore. Even still, his mind wandered, circling around the young woman he'd met earlier. If things had been different, could they have really been friends?

 _'Forget about her, Naruto. She's the enemy.'_ Naruto told himself. After a couple minutes, though, he opened his eyes again to stare up at the moon once more, the deep-ache of longing making his chest tighten. Gripping his mesh shirt where the phantom pain was at its strongest, Naruto tensed his jaw. _'She's supposed to be the enemy...so why do I feel like this?'_

"Naruto! Are you up there?" Sakura called out from down below. Instead of answering, Naruto sat up and looked over the edge. "Dinner's ready. Come eat."

"I'll be there in a minute..." He answered solemnly before laying back down to keep staring up at the night sky, the pinkette frowning slightly before heading back inside. Recalling Haku's warm smile, the first one she'd given him. She wasn't scared of him, she didn't think he was a freak, she didn't hate him... _'She thought I looked 'cute'...'_

Sitting up and ruffling the short fur on his head with an exasperated groan, Naruto slowly dragged his hands down over his face. Sighing audibly into his palms, he smoothed his fur back out before finally getting up and dropping down to the boardwalk that wrapped around the quaint little home. Taking one last moment to recompose himself, Naruto tugged his scarf back over his nose while his ears folded back, like usual. Taking another deep breath to settle his rattled nerves, he walked inside to eat...

xXx

"Ngh..." Groaning slightly, Naruto sat up in the borrowed futon, still feeling sore from training himself into the ground after Inari's outburst last night. Noticing that he was the only one in the room they'd all been sharing, he glanced at the clock to see that he'd woken up a half hour later than usual. Rubbing his face slightly, he sighed tiredly. "Feh...Figures that they'd leave me behind..."

Getting up and getting dressed, Naruto went downstairs without speaking to a word to Tsunami and Inari. Once he'd set foot outside, though, he took off into a full sprint, intending to catch up to his team. Even now, though, Haku still plagued his mind. More specifically, her smile. She was only the sixth person to ever truly smile at him...and she was supposed to be his enemy. Thoughts broken as he smelled blood, Naruto came to a stop on a tree branch, sniffing the air to get an idea of where it was coming from. It wasn't human blood, but he wanted to investigate anyways. It only took him a moment to find the butchered remains of a boar, but it hadn't been done by a hunter...

"Couldn't have been dead any longer than a half hour. Whoever killed this thing wasn't doing it for food..." Naruto mumbled quietly to himself as he inspected the numerous cuts littering the carcass. Spotting something out of the corner of his eye, he looked up to find a handful of gashes carved into a nearby tree. A quick glance around revealed numerous other tree with the same kind of cuts on them...and they were leading back in the direction of Tazuna's house. They were all fresh, too. Eyes narrowing and lips curling into a slight snarl, Naruto pulled his scarf back up before sprinting back towards the house. Making it back in record time, Naruto easily spotted the two ronin standing on the pier-like walkway leading towards the house, Tsunami having been taken prisoner by the pair.

 _'That stupid kid!'_ Naruto thought in slight panic as he pumped chakra into his legs, surging forward at full speed as Inari ran at the two swordsmen, trying to save his mother...

"INARI!" Tsunami screamed as the ronin reached for their swords to cut down her little boy, only for the fear and panic to become too much for her. In that one instant, her vision went dark just as the ronin drew their swords. Landing a few yards away from the two thugs, Naruto gently laid the unconscious Tsunami down with Inari, the trailing end of his scarf missing a few inches of scarlet fabric where the ronin had cut through it instead of the child he'd saved.

"Stay here." Naruto growled out at the boy as he stood up and turned to face the ronin as they focused on him.

"Well, well, if it isn't the freaky fox ninja!" The beanie wearing ronin taunted, only making Naruto's temper spike, his eyes flashing red for a split second. Both ronin flinched back slightly in reaction, something that proved fatal for them when Naruto vanished from his spot, only to appear in the air between them in that same moment. Before they could react, Naruto's crimson claw-blades extended from his greaves and bracers as he twisted his body in mid-air.

"Kamisori no ha Senpu!" He snarled angrily as he slashed at the pair, but even in his rage, he held back just enough to leave them with an assortment of bleeding, but non-lethal gashes all over their bodies. Retracting his blades as he touched back down on the ground, Naruto jumped up again before kicking both ronin in their faces, knocking them out. Forming a quick clone, he took off in search of his team once more while his doppelganger went about restraining the two ronin, already knowing to stay with Tsunami and Inari, just in case. _'God damn it! Gatou's making his move! I have to get to the others before-'_

Before what, exactly? Before they got hurt? Before they got ambushed? Or...before they hurt someone else? Gritting his teeth with an angry, confused growl, Naruto simply pushed himself to move even faster...

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Kamisori no ha Senpu- Razor Blade Whirlwind


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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A Tale of Tails

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Chapter Three

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura yelled as she hurled a kunai towards the collection of floating ice mirrors, hoping to somehow save or at least assist Sasuke, who was trapped within them. Unfortunately, the masked hunter-nin leaned out of one of the mirrors, catching the kunai before anything could happen. _'He caught it?!'_

The next instant, the masked ninja was knocked out of the mirror by a blur of grey, red, and orange that went up in smoke immediately after impact. Power sliding under the mirrors, Naruto stopped next to Sasuke, noticing the multitude of scratches and senbon he was littered with. Just as he was about to try getting him out of the dome of ice mirrors, Naruto's instincts kicked in, forcing him to whip around and swat a couple senbon out of the air using his bracer, glaring at Haku, but...not out of hate. As she stepped into a mirror, Naruto readied his trench knives for a fight.

"Over here." She remarked from behind them, shocking both of the genin. Naruto grit his teeth in frustration; she was fast, faster than him. Sasuke, despite his surprise, didn't waste time running through a short string of handseals.

"Katon: Goukakyu!" He declared before spewing forth a cone of flame, intending to melt the ice mirrors with its heat. Sadly, it didn't work...

"It did nothing?!" Sasuke exclaimed in slight panic, his eyes wide with shock.

"You can't melt my mirrors with that level of fire." Haku explained before readying a handful of senbon. In the blink of an eye, however, neither Naruto nor Sasuke had time to react as the needles shot at them from different angles, some merely scratching them while others embedded themselves in their bodies. Forcing himself back to his feet, Naruto yanked out the lone senbon stuck in his left thigh and tossed it aside before forming a handseal. "Trying to follow with your eyes is impossible. You will never be able to catch me."

"Don't tell me what I can and can't do! Kage Bunshin!" He fox-teen snarled as a dozen clones of himself appeared, each one and himself lunging for a mirror. Once again, Haku struck, destroying them all in an instant. While they'd done nothing to Haku, Naruto had realized something as he hit the ground. Whatever it was that made Haku so fast, his clones had been hit in sequential order, popping one after another. Not all at once. That ruled out her using any kind of clone techniques or some kind of instantaneous area attack. Growling louder than before as he forced himself to stand back up, Naruto became uncaring of the scarf as it slipped off his face, his lips curled into a fanged snarl. "You're moving between the mirrors...That's how you're doing it..."

"You figured it out already." Haku mumbled just loud enough for them to hear, actually a little impressed. "Even if you know that, it won't help you."

"I don't need to know how you're moving so fast to stop you!" Naruto barked out in retort, his teeth gnashed angrily. That is, until a handful of senbon embedded themselves in the back of his legs, dropping him to his knees with a stifled cry of pain.

"Becoming a true ninja is difficult for me. If possible, I don't want to have to kill you or for you to have to kill me. But if you come at me...I can bury my heart long enough to put you down." Haku admitted, a touch of heartache softening her tone as she stared at the fox-boy she'd befriended. Why did it hurt so much, seeing him in pain? Reinforcing her resolve, Haku readied another handful of senbon. "This bridge is the place where we fight...to connect to our dreams. Me, for mine, and you, for yours. Please, don't hate me. I want to protect someone precious to me. To work for that person. To fight for that person. To make that person's dreams come true. That is my dream."

Naruto growled again as he yanked out the last needle stuck in his legs, which were weakened by the shards of metal. Thankfully, his healing factor was slowly returning strength to them, but not fast enough. Forcing himself back to his feet, Naruto glared up at the masked girl's nearest reflection. Unknowing of the fact that it was the mirror Haku was actually inhabiting at the moment.

"For that, I can become a true ninja." Haku continued, hardening her heart even more. "For that...I can kill you."

Seeing Haku tense up, Sasuke tried to dodge to the side, only to be stopped before he could move by a senbon going through his lower leg just under his knee. The split second that followed, he and Naruto both were pelted with senbon, but Naruto took the worst of it. For some reason, it seemed like the masked ninja was focusing on him. Yeah, Naruto was fast, but that was about all he had going for him apart from being good with kunai and his trench knives. Glancing over his shoulder at the fox-boy, Sasuke watched as Naruto simply refused to go down, his limbs shaking with effort as he kept ripping senbon out of his body, glaring and snarling at the ice mirrors the whole time. He really was a fighter...

Still, he was slowly being able to predict where the hunter was going to strike next. It wasn't perfect and he still got hit with half of the needles thrown at him, but he was getting better the longer the fight went on. Unfortunately, he didn't know just how much longer he'd be able to last. He and Naruto could both hear Kakashi and Zabuza fighting outside of the dome where the mist was at its thickest. They could only hope that Kakashi won his fight before they lost theirs...

"You move pretty well." Haku praised coldly, only to draw another handful of senbon. "But this time, I'll stop you."

 _'He's coming. Calm down. Concentrate...'_ Sasuke mentally told himself, his eyes wide open as he watched vigilantly for the signs of the next attack. A split second later, the hunter moved. _'...and see through it!'_

In that moment, Sasuke threw himself across their little arena, completely dodging Haku's attempted stab at him, another volley pelting Naruto to keep him immobilized. She was shocked; he'd seen her attack coming...but how?! As he picked himself off the ground and glared back at her, Haku saw the reason why; his Sharingan had finally awoken. Jumping back and melting back into a mirror, Haku prepared another collection of throwing needles.

Panting lightly from pushing himself so hard, Sasuke could finally see the masked ninja's movements. Not fully, but just enough to give him a better chance. He risked a quick glance at Naruto to see him still stuck on his hands and knees, fresh senbon sticking out of his body. He didn't know how much longer he was going to last in the fight, but if he went down...then Naruto didn't stand a chance. As his eyes darted back towards the mirror Haku had gone into, Sasuke failed to realize that he had just given Haku what she needed; a weak point to finally bring him down.

"I see...You're also from an advanced bloodline." Haku commented, her tone still just as cold as the ice she controlled. "I'll have to end this quick. This technique uses a lot of chakra. The longer this fight takes, the better your chances of surviving, but...I'm not going to give you that chance. This is the end!"

With that, she lunged from her mirror, feigning an attack aimed at Sasuke before redirecting towards Naruto at the last second. Sasuke's eyes went wide in shock, his body moving on autopilot as he pushed himself to move as fast as he could. From his spot, Naruto looked up just in time for Sasuke's shadow to fall over him. Across from the dark haired teen was Haku, knocked prone after being intercepted by Sasuke.

"All you ever do...is make things so much more difficult...for everyone else." Sasuke wrasped out, most of the senbon he'd been hit with focusing around his neck, a pained look of fear slowly creeping on to Naruto's face as he shakily reached out towards Sasuke. "What's...with that look?"

"Sasuke, you..." Naruto trailed off just before Sasuke fell over, the fox-boy barely managing to catch him before he could hit the ground. His eyes went wider yet as he noticed the glazed look in Sasuke's eyes. He was already gone. "You stupid idiot..."

"He managed to hit me and without flinching, died to protect you..." Haku muttered as she forced herself into a kneeling position, although a bit shakily from using so much chakra. "To protect a precious person, knowing it was a trap, he still jumped in front of you...He's a shinobi that deserves respect."

Naruto didn't move, staring at the unmoving form of his team mate. His...friend. Jaw tensing and his grip tightening, Naruto couldn't focus properly. He was too busy fighting the raging inferno building up inside of him, a trickle of blood dripping from the corner of his mouth as he gnashed his teeth hard enough to make his gums bleed. Standing up fully, Haku stood there for a moment. Even now, even after everything she'd done...her chest still hurt. Why? Why was this causing her just as much pain as it was him?! Why him?!

"Is this the first time you've lost someone close to you?" She continued speaking, leaning back and sinking into another mirror. "This is what it means to be a ninja."

"Shut up..." He wrasped out as he gently laid Sasuke down, closing the Uchiha's eyes with one hand before weakly standing up, driven solely by his emotions at the moment. His head was bowed, his ears folded back out of emotional agony and unrelenting fury, his hands balling up into fists. "You dare...preach about precious people...and true strength...when you have the nerve...to kill someone else's precious person?!"

"He-" Haku was silenced, however, before she could really start.

"I SAID SHUT UP!" Naruto roared as red-orange chakra suddenly exploded from his body, swirling around him like a storm, the image of a roaring fox's head appearing above him that truly frightened Haku. Not only that, but right before her eyes, she watched his wounds heal, her senbon forced out of his body as his flesh knit itself back together. "He didn't deserve to die. He still had a dream to accomplish. It should be _me_ laying there right now, not him..."

"And why is that, Naruto?" Haku asked, her emotional mask cracking. "Why should you be the one that's dead and not him?"

"Because I don't have a dream!" Naruto snapped, shocking Haku with his words as the red-orange chakra sunk back into his body as his fur became ruffled, the hairs standing on end as his tail flicked back and forth furiously. Blood dripped from his hands as his claws dug into his palms, trench knives left forgotten on the ground. "Me and him never did see eye to eye. We never got along. You could say we damn near hated each other...but he didn't deserve this. For killing him...I'LL KILL YOU!"

Ears twitching slightly as Haku readied more senbon to protect herself with, Naruto's head suddenly snapped in her direction, looking directly at her with his blood red eyes. She flinched, caught off guard by the sheer extent of the malice they held. It gave him all the time he needed, the ground under his feet cracking from the force of him taking off at full speed, appearing in front of her mirror instantly. She tried to jump from her mirror to another, but the moment she popped out, Naruto's fist had already made contact with her masked face, smashing her back into the sheet of ice. Launched back a good dozen feet, Haku rolled to a stop on the ground while the rest of her mirrors cracked and broke, falling to the ground to shatter in a deafening roar of breaking glass.

Naruto didn't hear any of it, his eyes locked on Haku as she started standing back up, his chest heaving with each labored breath. All he could see was red. Having more to say, though, he restrained himself from killing her right away...

"You...You stole my heart yesterday..." Naruto growled out through gnashed fangs as tears started falling from his ruby eyes, Haku's eyes widening at the revelation as her mask cracked and broke, falling away from her face. Both literally and figuratively. Even as he spoke, he walked closer to her with purpose, his anger still burning strong. "You stole it...and then you ripped it apart right in front of me..."

Haku didn't have the chance to react before Naruto's fist smashed against her face a second time in the form of a backhand, sending her skidding across the ground a second time. He walked over to her prone body, standing over her as she stared up at him with pained eyes, tears of her own welling up. Sitting on her stomach to keep her from going anywhere, Naruto cocked his fist back again.

"I'll...I'll kill you..." He wrasped out as he swung his fist again, Haku's eyes closing as she waited for the embrace of death. However, not feeling the impact or any pain, but hearing his fist hit something, she opened her eyes again. He'd hit the ground beside her head with enough power to put spiderweb cracks in the stone. His fur smoothed back out and his eyes shifted back to their bright blue coloring, his tears flowing even stronger this time. He sat there, staring at her and shaking. They sat there in silence for a minute before he finally squeezed his eyes shut, leaning forward as a sob tore through him. "I...I-I can't...I can't do it..."

Haku could only stare at the crying fox-boy on top of her, unable to think of what to do. He just confessed his feelings for her, if they could be called that, and admitted that he couldn't kill her, even in his enraged state. Slumping forward until his forehead was pressed against her chest, Naruto continued to cry, continuously muttering 'I can't do it' under his breath between sobs. Hearing a shrill chirping of some kind further down the bridge, Haku felt in her gut that Zabuza was in danger, but...she was too weak to move, too weak to move the boy off of her. Starting to cry just as heavily as the boy on top of her, Haku shakily wrapped her arms around Naruto, holding him tight.

She couldn't do anything to save Zabuza. She couldn't do anything...

As the shrill chirping came to an end and the mist began to thin, Haku kept her eyes squeezed tight, holding on to Naruto for dear life. What was she going to do with herself now? Having not had a dream of her own, with the exception of achieving Zabuza's, what was she going to strive for now? She no longer had a reason to live, a reason to fight. All she could do now was hold on to the fox-boy, hold on to Naruto, and cry. Coughing and gasping for breath as he continued crying, Naruto felt her arms around him and the warmth of her body against his, but as soothing as it was, it did little to console him.

As the mist thinned more, gradually fading away now that it was no longer being supplied with chakra, a steadily growing mass of shadows could be seen at the other end of the bridge. Kakashi, hand soaked in Zabuza's blood, turned to look at the new arrivals just as the mist cleared up enough to reveal Gatou and his small army of thugs. He tensed his jaw and narrowed his eyes, having used up too much chakra in his fight with Zabuza to be able to take them all on his own.

"Well, it seems they not only failed to do what I wanted them to, but got themselves killed as well." Gatou remarked irritably before smirking smugly. "Oh, well. Saves me the trouble of finishing them off myself. So much for the 'Demon of the Bloody Mist', eh?"

The remark earned him a collection of laughter from his thugs, the sound being loud enough to make Naruto's ear twitch and swivel around towards them, his sobs dying down and tears drying up. Enemies. A lot of them, from the sound of things. Still crying herself, Haku wasn't willing to let go of him as Naruto started to stand up, but her arms were too weak to keep him there. Finally opening her eyes and looking up at him, she saw the look on Naruto's face gradually shift from one of pain and anguish to focused anger, his ears folding back again as he started walking. She watched him walk over to where they'd been fighting earlier, picking up his trench knives.

"At least he did one thing right; he wore out all of you enough that my men here can finish cleaning house." Gatou gloated before tapping his cane on the floor. "Get them, boys."

"I can't kill her..." Naruto growled out as he walked past Kakashi, the army of thugs having just started to move as he did. His grip on his trench knives tightened as he snarled. "...but I can kill all of you."

"Naruto, don't-" Kakashi tried to stop his student, reaching out to grab him before he could do anything stupid, but...Naruto had already taken off, forming a single handseal as he did.

"Kage Bunshin!" He shouted as a dozen clones of himself popped into existence alongside him in clouds of smoke. The thugs and bandits were caught off guard by the sudden appearance of the strange fox-like teens, hesitating for just a second. It was all the time Naruto needed for him and his clones to clear the distance between them. Moving too fast for any of them to react properly, Naruto and his clones weaved through their ranks, their silver metal 'fangs' slicing through their bodies like water. Their screams of pain and fear echoed all along the bridge, terrifying Gatou as his men were cut down without mercy or hesitation. He turned and started running towards the incomplete end of the bridge, trying to get to one of the boats so that he could flee.

"Going somewhere?" Came the growling inquiry from behind him, causing Gatou to turn around to find one of the fox-like men standing there, his trench knives dripping with blood. Tripping over a piece of construction material as he tried to back away from him, Gatou fell to the ground with a cry. Having left his clones to deal with the riff-raff, Naruto glared down at Gatou as the short, pudgy man tried crawling away. "You are the source of the famine that has plagued this county...You've killed innocents in your greed..."

"S-Spare me! I'll give you anything you want, just don't kill me!" Gatou cried out in panic, only for Naruto to grab him by the collar of his suit and lift him up, his legs kicking as his feet lost touch with the ground. "M-Money! I have lots of money! I can pay you! J-Just let me live!"

"...You can't buy my mercy." Naruto whispered before drawing a hand back and slamming his bladed fist into Gatou's neck, letting him go at the same time. Instantly, the tyranical tycoon was relieved of his head, his body thudding to the ground while his removed cranium sailed through the air and plummeted to the sea down below. Wiping the blood from his knives on Gatou's body, Naruto holstered them and turned around, shambling back towards the others just as his clones finished off the last of the thugs, dispelling once the last one fell.

Kakashi could only stand there in silence, watching his student. He'd just witnessed the boy make his first kill a hundred times over and while justifiable, it was still quite worrisome for the jounin. Shuffling past Kakashi, Naruto stopped and slowly looked up to see Sakura tending to Sasuke, who was...sitting up now with her help, the senbon removed from his body. Relieved, he let out a shaky breath.

"We're going back to the house..." Naruto mumbled to the jounin before he started walking again, leaving the shell shocked jounin in his wake as he made his way back to Haku. Dropping to his knees beside the still crying girl, Naruto struggled for a moment before managing to pick Haku up in his arms, standing as she tightly wrapped her arms around his neck and shoulders. He ignored everyone around him, even the horde of villagers up ahead as he shuffled on. Sasuke was alive. The town was safe again. Gatou was gone. Zabuza...was gone...

 _'Don't worry, Haku.'_ He thought to himself as he walked, everyone moving out of the way to give him room. Eyes half lidded with exhaustion, he leaned his head down as he moved on autopilot, burying his nose in Haku's hair and breathing in her scent, hearing only the sound of her sobbing as she buried her face against his neck and chest. As he walked, a light showering of snow flakes began to fall. _'I'll take care of you...I'll protect you...'_

xXx

Three days later, Kakashi contemplated what to do about Haku. He tried talking to Naruto about it, but the teen had become extremely protective of her; he wouldn't even let anyone be in the same room as her without him present. The two of them had taken up residence in one of the only other spare rooms in the house while everyone recovered from the battle. Not only that, but Haku had been unresponsive since the battle. The only person she'd react to was Naruto and even if the boy wasn't over protective of her, she wouldn't go anywhere or do anything without him by her side. She only spoke to him, if she spoke at all, and would only eat if Naruto was there with her. He'd thought about his options, but with how things were going, he didn't have very many.

"Sasuke, Sakura. I have a favor to ask of you..." Kakashi spoke up from his spot, the three of them currently in their shared room; the two males present were recovering from their injuries while the lone female, Sakura, helped tend to them. Once he was certain he had the full attention of both genin, he continued. "I want you to exclude Haku from your reports when we get back to Konoha. Officially, she has no affiliation with Zabuza or Gatou or anything else that happened here. Am I clear?"

"...Hai." Sasuke mumbled out in response, a little put off by the request, but he wasn't about to try fighting it. There wasn't a reason to, anyways. So long as she didn't try anything stupid, he didn't care. She was Naruto's responsibility now. Seeing as Sasuke had agreed with it, Sakura reluctantly did the same, nodding her confirmation to Kakashi from her spot. Groaning slightly as his healing wounds ached and stung, Kakashi forced himself to his feet before grabbing his crutches, hobbling off to find Naruto to tell him the same thing. Reaching the door to the room the fox-boy was staying in with Haku, Kakashi sighed softly before knocking. After a moment of waiting, the door slid open enough to reveal the genin in question.

"What do you want, Scarecrow?" Naruto mumbled cautiously, his ears folded back and eyes narrowed slightly. Kakashi sighed once more; at least he had stopped calling him 'Hatake'.

"I just came to let you know that I've asked the others to leave out Haku's involvement in everything." He answered, getting a surprised look from Naruto before it became suspicious once more. Before he could say anything, Kakashi held his hands up placatingly. "No strings attached, no ulterior motives, nothing of the sort. She is, essentially, a free woman now. Officially, she'll have no affiliation with anything that's happened here in Wave Country. If she wishes to come to Konoha with us, we'll just say...that you met her after everything happened and that she wanted to come back to the village with us. Okay?"

"..." Naruto was silent for a moment, glancing off to the side in thought. Closing his eyes, Naruto started to slide the door shut. "Thank you, Kakashi-sensei..."

"Any time, Naruto..." Kakashi muttered softly with a sad smile even though the door was already closed. Turning back around, he hobbled back to the room to get some more rest. Sighing quietly in relief as he finally stepped away from the door, Naruto turned around with a sad smile as he looked at Haku. She was curled up on the futon, her back to him as she stared at the far wall blankly, tears still falling from her eyes; she'd had another nightmare about Zabuza. Walking over and sitting down beside her, Naruto reached over before pulling the surprisingly light girl into his lap, wrapping his arms around her comfortingly. Reacting to his touch, Haku's lips quivered slightly before she calmly buried her face in the fur on his chest, her tears flowing more freely as she curled up in his lap, shivering slightly.

Grabbing the blanket and pulling it over the both of them, Naruto hesitated for a moment before gently taking one of her hands into his own, gingerly running his thumb across her knuckles. Instantly, she squeezed his fingers in return, a quiet choked sob escaping her as she closed her eyes, crying into his chest. Eyeing the bandages wrapped around her wrist, Naruto knew that the pain and sorrow he'd felt when he thought Sasuke had been killed paled in comparison to the agony Haku was in over Zabuza's death; she'd tried to commit suicide the first night by taking one of his kunai and cutting her wrist. Thankfully, he'd caught her almost immediately and stopped the bleeding. She had refused to leave his side ever since then.

"Did you hear him, Haku? You're safe now." He whispered to her as he buried his nose in her hair, holding her a little tighter as he closed his eyes. Faintly nodding her head in response, she stayed silent while shifting slightly and curling up a little more in his arms, getting a little more comfortable on his lap. Smiling weakly despite her tears, Haku nuzzled his 'bare' chest in relief. Now, she could focus on grieving over the loss of the only person that had ever taken an interest in her. Before she met Naruto, that is...

After he had stopped her from killing herself, Haku had finalized her opinion of the fox-boy currently holding her. He said he didn't have a dream back on the bridge. She herself didn't have one, either. Thus, she decided that she was going to help him find one. That was her dream now. She found it funny and quite ironic, though. Haku had always thought of herself as a timid little rabbit since she was a kid and yet here she was, falling in love with a fox...

As her tears started to dry up and her breathing evened back out, Haku smiled slightly as she nuzzled Naruto's chest again. Between the emotional exhaustion and the warmth and softness of Naruto's fur, Haku slowly began to doze off in his arms...

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	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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A Tale of Tails

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Chapter Four

"How's she holding up?" Kakashi inquired as he walked up next to Naruto, the fox-boy leaning back against a tree in the shade as he watched over Haku from a distance, a week and a half having passed since the battle on the bridge. She was visiting Zabuza's grave for only the second time since he'd been buried, the hill they were on overlooking the bridge they'd all fought on as it neared completion; a few more days and they'd be getting ready to return to Konoha.

"Better. She still has nightmares, but I don't think those are going to stop for a little while longer." Naruto answered softly, his eyes never leaving Haku as she knelt down in front of the marked grave; maybe he should look into getting the man an actual grave marker some day. It might help cheer her up a little bit, knowing he had a proper one. "She hasn't made any more attempts to take her own life, thankfully. I guess I managed to get through to her the first time..."

"She certaintly looks a lot happier than she was before." Kakashi commented, the pair watching as Haku glanced back towards Naruto to make sure he was still there. She smiled when she saw him, though it faultered slightly when she saw Kakashi, before turning back towards the grave marker, still talking to the deceased man. Naruto smiled sadly, though he really was glad that she was starting to find a little bit of happiness again. She was finally coming to terms with everything. "I take it she's decided to come with us to Konoha?"

"Yeah. She's already collected all of her belongings from their old hideout." Naruto's smile cheered up a little as he thought about her coming with them, only for his mind to wander slightly. "Which reminds me...I've got to clean up my apartment and see what I can do about getting her settled in."

"Oh? Moving a little fast, don't you think?" Kakashi teased lightheartedly, getting a cautioning look from Naruto. Laughing quietly, he waved his ire off dismissively. "I'm joking. Relax. I honestly think it'll do her a lot of good to move in with you when we get back. Might do _you_ some good, too. Hopefully, she'll make you a little friendlier."

"What's that supposed to mean, Scarecrow?" Naruto growled out defensively, glaring at the taller man a little from his spot. Kakashi simply chuckled again before turning to leave. Snorting slightly as the man walked off, Naruto crossed his arms over his chest and focused his attention back to Haku. He hoped to get her well enough that he could get back to training regularly again; he got restless easy when he wasn't busy training or doing missions. Although, he had noticed a change in himself recently. While he'd been preoccupied with keeping an eye on Haku, Naruto hadn't felt the slightest bit restless, even now after the worst of the storm had passed, in his opinion. So long as he was with her, he felt quite calm and relaxed. It was nice...

"Naruto-kun? You okay?" Haku suddenly asked, snapping him out of his thoughts. Blinking owlishly as he noticed she was standing in front of him, Naruto figured he must have zoned out for a minute, lost in his thoughts.

"Yeah, I'm alright. I was just thinking." He reassured, noticing the rather well hidden look of concern and worry in her chocolate brown eyes. Smiling slightly, he reached over and put a hand on her head, making her blush slightly. "Ready to go?"

"Mmhm." She hummed out with a smile, something that made him happy. Last time, she'd left in tears. Pushing away from the tree, Naruto was about to start walking with his hands in his pockets when Haku suddenly wiggled her way under his arm, leaning into him with her arm wrapped around him in return. Looking at her curiously, he only got a shy smile and flushed cheeks from Haku. Sighing slightly, he smiled and shook his head at her slightly. At least she was happier now. "So, what were you thinking about?"

"Hm...About how happy you looked this time." He answered honestly, making Haku blush shyly and half-way bury her face against his chest and shoulder, but she was still smiling a little. "I was also thinking about something else. It's in regards to when we get to Konoha."

"Oh? What is it?" She got a little nervous, hoping it wasn't anything bad.

"I was thinking about, uh...Well, sleeping arrangements." Naruto mumbled out with a heavy blush, looking off to the side awkwardly. He wasn't the only one, but with half her face pressed against his chest, he wasn't aware of the faint smile on her lips. "I've only got the one bed and it's not all that big, so I was wondering if you'd...you know, prefer if I got another for you to sleep in or something."

"Actually, I've gotten pretty used to sleeping next to you." She admitted sheepishly, blushing heavily still as she avoided eye contact. Smile growing a little bigger, she leaned back into him fully. "So long as there's enough room for us to both sleep comfortably, I'm okay with it. Besides, having you next to me at night helps whenever I start having bad dreams..."

"Yeah..." Naruto's smile slipped a little bit at the thought, recalling how she often woke up in the middle of the night in tears. She'd even woken up screaming a couple times. Every time, she'd spend anywhere from a few minutes to an hour crying into his chest from them before finally falling back asleep. Thankfully over the past week, they'd been ever so slowly dropping in intensity, but like he'd told Kakashi, he didn't think they'd stop for a while longer. She'd spent a good portion of her life with Zabuza, after all...

"Hey. Only I'm allowed to be mopey right now..." Haku mumbled with a slight pout, poking his cheek as she stared up at him, being a few inches shorter than him. Snorting at the girl's reasoning, Naruto smirked before lightly kissing the top of her head. Instantly, Haku's cheeks went bright red while he himself was kind of shocked by what he did; sure, they'd been rather close recently, but why would he just suddenly do that? On reflex, at that? Half expecting her to get upset, Naruto played it off while waiting for her to throw a fit or something, but...she just leaned back into him, holding him a little tighter as they walked.

As they took the path to Tazuna's home that avoided the town, Naruto struggled to calm down, his cheeks burning and heart beating a tad fast. Having had her ear to his chest, Haku could hear his heart start racing after he kissed the top of her head. It brought a truly happy smile to her face. He was just too cute and adorably awkward sometimes.

xXx

The last few days in Wave Country went by quietly as Sasuke got back to doing some light training, Sakura still keeping an eye on him since he was still experiencing some muscle weakness. Kakashi was healed for the most part and had taken over guarding Tazuna the last few days while the bridge was finished, leaving Naruto and Haku to essentially do as they pleased. Even still, Haku had started getting a little restless and took it upon herself to help Tsunami around the house while Naruto occupied himself on occassion with some simple chakra control excercises.

Once they'd all parted ways from Wave Country, it didn't take them long to get to Konoha now that they no longer had to go at a civilian's pace. Getting in had been a slight hassle, however, seeing as Haku hadn't possessed any sort of identification papers or anything. Because of it, his team mates had gone ahead to report to the Hokage while he took Haku to remedy the issue. While she'd been busy, Naruto had thought ahead to send a couple clones to his apartment to make sure nothing had been messed with while he was gone and to clean up a little; he wasn't exactly a messy person, but he wasn't exactly neat, either. Once it had all been taken care of, he led her to his...Well, _their_ apartment.

"You...booby trapped your apartment?" Haku mumbled, a little concerned about it. Naruto didn't say anything at first, thankful that one of his clones had managed to remove the little bit of graffitti that had been spray painted on to his door. The last thing he needed her to see right now were the names everyone liked to call him. "Does it have something to do with the looks everyone keeps giving you?"

"...Something like that." He muttered quietly while opening the door, letting her go in first. Closing and locking the door without rearming the trap, Naruto started undoing the straps to his harness, stripping out of his equipment and scarf before hanging it all up on a couple wall-hooks near the front door with the exception of his trench knives; he always kept those nearby. When he turned away from his things, he found Haku giving him a worried look. "I don't want to talk about it right now, Haku. It's...kind of a touchy subject for me."

"Okay..." Walking into the kitchen, Naruto winced slightly as he picked up the underlying tone of disquiet sympathy for him in her voice. While he was busy, Haku decided to take a look around the small apartment. The den had only a couch that looked like it had seen better days and a small coffee table that had a few stains on it. The kitchen was simple and open, having a plain looking wooden dining table with two chairs, a stove top oven, a fridge, and a microwave off to the corner. Next to the kitchen was a small hallway that most likely led to the bedroom and bathroom. Still able to faintly smell cleaning chemicals, Haku smirked slightly, knowing Naruto had probably sent a clone or five to do some quick cleaning. Hearing a quiet mewl before something landed on her shoulder, Haku ducked down slightly in surprise before finding an all black cat standing there.

"I see you've met Ren." Naruto spoke up from the kitchen as he walked over with two cups of tea. "You know, you _can_ sit down."

"Hm." Haku simply hummed quietly as she smiled, pulling the cat from her shoulder and holding it as she walked over to the couch, scratching Ren under the chin. Sitting down next to her after setting their drinks down on the table, Naruto leaned back and ran a hand over his head.

"Sorry if there isn't much to do right now. Like I said before, I don't really do much outside of training..." He apologized, lightly scratching the back of his ear as he glanced off to the side. "That and I usually don't ever have company over."

"Mm-mm, it's okay." Haku reassured as she kept petting Ren, the cat purring happily as it curled up on her lap. "It'll probably take me a little bit to readjust, anyways."

"Well...Do you want to...unpack or something?" Naruto inquired, actively trying to find something to do that might help pass the time. Haku thought about it for a second before taking a sip of her tea; it wasn't bad, but it left a lot to be desired.

"It's not like I have a whole lot of stuff, Naruto." Haku responded while holding up the single storage scroll that held all of her belongings. "It's mostly just equipment, a couple replacement outfits, medical supplies, and rations."

"Oh..." He mumbled while slouching to the side a little, closing his eyes as he tried thinking of something else. That was when he felt Haku lean against him, Ren running off to wander the apartment again. Looking down at her, Naruto saw only the small, content smile on her face as she drew her legs up onto the couch, her head resting on his chest.

"Let's just lay here for a little while and relax a bit longer, okay?" Naruto didn't try to argue. Instead, he had her sit up for a second while he got a little more comfortable, stretching out on the couch a little more with Haku laying between his legs. Smiling a little more than before, Haku wrapped her arms around him and went to nuzzle his chest, only to feel the slightly abrasive netting from his top. Sitting up with a pout, Haku looked at the fox-boy while tugging at his mesh shirt. "Take it off."

"What? Why?" Naruto questioned, his cheeks reddening; it's not like it did much to hide anything, but the way she said it made him hesitate. When her pout was then accompanied by a slight glare, he finally relented with a sigh before tugging the top off. Even going so far as to pull his gloves off, Naruto deposited them on the floor next to them. Satisfied, Haku smiled again while leaning against him once more, sighing softly as she nuzzled his chest. Unable to resist it any longer, he quietly laughed at her behavior, getting another look from Haku as she peeked up at him. Not even thinking about it, he lightly kissed the top of her head while wrapping his arms around her, getting comfortable.

While Naruto leaned his head to the side against the couch's backing with his eyes closed, Haku continued staring at him in thought. To anyone else, they must have looked like they'd been a couple for some time, but the truth was that she was just comfortable being around him and he helped make her happy again. Even if the thought had crossed her mind quite a bit recently. As much as she was tempted by it, Haku didn't want to go quite that far with their friendship. Not yet, at least. Then again, with how they'd been acting, they might as well have been romantically involved.

It was obvious to her that Naruto had true feelings for her. Maybe not quite love, but if what he'd said back on the bridge was true...

 _"You stole my heart"_. She would never forget those words. In the midst of a battle and he chooses a time like that to confess his feelings? Then again, in the state he had been in, she couldn't blame him for it. His heart must have really been torn for him to admit that. That was when a frown warped the content smile she'd had, remembering something else he'd said on the bridge. _"It should be_ me _laying there right now, not him"_. She knew now that he was too honest for him to not be telling the truth. He honestly wished that he had been the one that was 'killed'. Did that mean...he wanted to die? Did he still feel that way?

That's when she started to realize a few things. The way he'd reacted when they first met, the trap on his door, the fact he didn't want to talk about why everyone looked at him with hatred, his lack of friends, and having so few precious people in his life. He was so alone, even more so than she'd ever been in her life. The look in his eyes when she asked him about the trap was no different than the look she used to have in her eyes back when Zabuza found her. Her frown worsening as her lips quivered slightly, Haku sat up to look at Naruto fully, unintentionally causing the fox-boy to look at her, only to grow concerned for her.

"Haku? What's wrong?" He asked worriedly, gently using a furry knuckle to dry a tear that had started to fall from her eye. Wordlessly shaking her head, Haku decided to discard her previous thoughts about them, not giving him a chance to react. "Hak-"

His eyes went wide with shock, his body going rigid as he was caught off guard. Her soft-skinned hands cupping his face, Naruto slowly let his eyes close as he relaxed, savoring the feeling of Haku's lips on his. His hands hesitantly came to rest on her waist, unintentionally causing Haku to press closer to him until their bodies were flush against one another as she deepened the kiss a little bit. After nearly a full minute, she finally pulled back before using a sleeve to dry her eyes, but it didn't stop them.

"I'm sorry for ripping your heart to pieces back then..." She whispered, catching him off guard with her words. Before he could try to say anything, she silenced him with a gentle peck on the lips, her teary-eyed smile making Naruto's heart ache. "But you can have _mine_ instead. Okay?"

"H-Haku..." He whispered with a slight stutter, wondering if he'd heard her right. Did she...really mean what he thought she meant? Even without voicing such thoughts, Haku could see the silent question in his eyes, smiling a little more as she nodded. Wordlessly pulling her closer, Naruto simply held her as she buried her face against his neck, his eyes a little unfocused as he stared at the far wall in shock. Repositioning her arms so that they were wrapped around his head and neck, Haku began to gently run her fingers through the fur on his head.

"You'll never be alone again, Naruto-kun...I promise." She whispered softly, once again catching him off guard. Feeling him tighten his grip on her, Haku shifted her position so that they were both a little more comfortable, stradling him just above his hips as she sat up a little more and cradled his head against her chest. Still running her fingers through the fur on the top and back of his head, Haku simply held him. She hated how it was heartbreak that kept bringing them closer together. As his arms looped around her waist, Haku smiled sadly as she simply held him while his clawed paw-like hands balled up on her back, gripping her turtleneck. He was starting to cry again. "Shh...I'm right here, just like you were for me. It'll be okay, Kitsune-kun..."

"What did you...call me?" He whispered, his voice waivering with emotion as tears continued to fall from his eyes. Haku hesitated, thinking she might have made things worse by calling him that; he obviously wasn't proud or pleased with his vulpine appearance.

"K-Kitsune-kun..." Haku repeated cautiously, only to feel him hold her even tighter as his head shifted from her chest to the side of her neck. That was when she felt him lightly kiss the side of her neck as he breathed in her scent, the butterfly kiss sending a slight shiver up her spine from the unexpected sensation. Glad that he wasn't mad about it, Haku smiled softly once more, content with just holding him. That's when she thought about something else; the bed. That way, they'd be able to get just a little more comfortable because she had a feeling that one of them was fixing to cry themselves to sleep. "Hey...You want to go lay down for a little bit?"

Feeling him nod slightly, Haku slowly climbed off of him before taking his hands in hers and helping him to his feet. When they got to the bedroom, Haku noticed exactly how spartan his place really was. He had only his bed, a nightstand, and a single dresser in the room; nothing else. There weren't any pictures on any of the walls in the apartment, nothing that could even resemble decorations of any kind, not even lamps. Before he could crawl into bed, Haku stopped him just long enough to take off the holsters holding his trench knives, setting them on the nightstand. Wanting to be a little more comfortable herself, Haku blushed shyly as she shed her baggy pants while Naruto wasn't looking, leaving her cream-skinned legs bare with only her underwear to clothe her lower half.

Crawling under the covers with him before he could notice, Haku didn't waste time wrapping her arms back around his head and neck, prompting him to bury his face against her neck with his arms wrapped around her waist. Curling around each other slightly, Haku smiled softly while getting back to gently running her fingers through the fur on his neck, gradually calming him down little by little. Blushing heatedly, however, Haku felt one of Naruto's legs trying to wedge itself between hers, but she knew better than to assume that he was trying to do anything. Letting him get comfortable, Haku slowly moved her leg up higher to drape over his hip, the fox-teen pulling her even closer to him until even their stomachs were pressed together.

"Hmm...Sweet dreams, my Kitsune-kun..." She whispered tenderly into his ear as her cheeks burned bright red from their intimate looking embrace. Gently kissing the top of his head, Haku smiled warmly when she felt him nuzzle her neck.

xXx

Ducking and dodging kicks and punches, Naruto used his natural flexibility and agility to his advantage while Sasuke continued trying to land hits on him, his first-stage Sharingan active the whole time. While Sasuke was able to somewhat predict where Naruto was going to strike or where he was going to go, the fox-teen was still quicker than him, leveling the playing field for them both. Even after a solid fifteen minutes of trading blows, neither had managed to land a single solid hit on the other and it didn't look like either one was going to succeed any time soon.

It had been almost a week since Team 7 had returned from Wave Country and Kakashi couldn't help noticing the distinct change in his two male students. Neither of them liked talking about what had happened on the bridge that day, but the jounin knew that they'd changed because of it. They didn't clash quite as much anymore, at least not verbally, and their teamwork was at an all-time high, surprisingly. Sasuke, who used to envy Naruto for his speed, was now on relatively equal terms with Naruto in a fight. If he had to label their newfound bond, Kakashi had to say that they were more like brothers now.

 _'Speaking of Wave Country...'_ Kakashi mused before glancing over towards his other student, Sakura, as she sparred with Haku. He'd been a little surprised when she had come to one of Team 7's early morning meetings and asked if she could join them during training sessions. Not to actually join their team, but to actually help _Kakashi_ , of all people, with training his students. For the most part, she acted more like an assistant teacher, giving the jounin an extra hand with some things. Such as acting as a sparring partner for Sakura at the moment. Even while they went back and forth, he could see Haku giving the pinkette some pointers on her stance or simple tactics in a fight.

The other day, while Naruto and Sasuke had been engaged in another of their fast-paced spars, Haku had asked him for permission to teach Sakura extracurricular skills whenever they weren't busy with team training or missions; namely, certain medical subjects, how to use senbon properly, and even herbology. He still hadn't quite made up his mind about it, but Kakashi was slowly growing fond of the idea. It was a shortcoming he was already fully aware of, but he honestly struggled a little when it came to teaching. It was one of the reasons why he had never passed a genin team before Team 7 came around. With Sasuke and Naruto, he had an easier time because they were rather self-sufficient most of the time and only needed guidance on one thing or another to help further their progress. Sakura, on the other hand, was highly intelligent, but still naive to some things and was just now starting to work on her physical skills.

Sighing softly, Kakashi reached into the equipment pouch out of habit to pull his Icha Icha novel out, only to pause the moment his fingers brushed against its hardback cover. Shaking his head slightly, he forced himself to leave it be before focusing back on his students...and unofficial assistant. He smirked slightly at the last part of his musings. They didn't seem so obvious anymore in public, but Kakashi could tell that the two of them had become much closer than they'd been back in Wave Country.

Naruto wasn't acting like an ass most of the time anymore and the jounin swore he'd seen him smile a couple times during team training, but they only lasted for a split second, leaving the jounin wondering if he'd actually seen him smile or not. Not only that, but Kakashi suspected that Haku had volunteered to help in an effort to needlessly atone for the events on the bridge and keep herself and to stay in shape, as well. The ice-wielding girl had even seemed to be far more cheerful than she'd been just a week prior.

To be honest, he was actually starting to feel proud of his team. His students were steadily progressing in terms of skills and knowledge while their teamwork was keeping pace. When he'd first taken them on, he had worried that their teamwork woud suffer because of their different personalities and for a while, he was right, but then...everything changed when he decided to give them a challenge. That challenge had been the C-rank mission to Wave Country. Ever since, they had all changed. No, not changed. They'd... _matured_. That's the word he was looking for...

"Alright, guys! That's enough for right now!" Kakashi suddenly called out to them while reaching into his weapon pouch once more, waving them over with his other hand as he did. The sky was slowly getting a little darker, the blue turning to orange as the afternoon gave way to the evening. Once his three students had come close enough, Kakashi continued, his hand still in the pouch. "It's starting to get a little late, so we'll go ahead and stop for the day. Starting tomorrow, though, you all have the next week off; my treat. You guys did good back in Wave Country and you've all been doing good during our team training sessions, so you guys deserve a bit of a break. However...I still want you three to do some studying while you're off. Now, here's your homework."

"Hm? A ninjutsu scroll?" Sasuke mumbled quietly, curiously looking through it. He wasn't complaining, but he didn't understand why Kakashi called it 'homework'.

"Basic Anatomy?" Sakura questioned as she read the title on her scroll, looking at Kakashi in confusion. Discreetly nodding to Haku as he finally gave her his decision, Kakashi eye smiled at his female student and volunteer assistant as Haku smiled slightly, only to start leading Sakura away to explain a few things to her. When he looked at Naruto, the fox-boy had already opened his scroll and started wandering off aimlessly; unlike the other two, Naruto's particular style was rather...unique. He had a large amount of chakra for ninjutsu, but his fighting style with his trench knives made it difficult to perform handseals during combat. Thus, his scroll was half lesson, half instructions.

"Hey...What's it mean by this?" Naruto questioned curiously without looking up from the scroll, having circled back around while Kakashi was distracted with his thoughts. In Naruto's hand was a small piece of paper that was split down the middle at an angle. Elemental Chakra Nature training; that was his little gift to Naruto. Even as hard as Naruto trained, he didn't expect the boy to figure things out for a while. Still, he was surprised to see what his chakra nature was.

"That, Naruto, means you're chakra has a natural Wind affinity." Kakashi explained with an eye smile. "It's actually quite rare in Konoha. In fact, there's only one other jounin in Konoha that has that chakra nature. Lucky for you, they also fight with trench knives."

"Oh? Really now?" Naruto mumbled as he glanced up at the one-eyed jounin. Idly, Kakashi was glad that Naruto had been coming out of his shell a little more recently. He had been right; being with Haku had really helped him relax. They were good for each other. "What exactly can Wind do, though?"

"Well, Wind chakra is actually rather versatile compared to the other elements. It can either be focused into powerful gusts of wind or scything blades, but it's a specialized offensive element." Kakashi explained, telling the simple version of what he knew about Wind chakra and Fuuton techniques. "I'll try to contact the jounin I mentioned to see if he can help teach you some more about it later on, but for now, I want you to just focus on the beginner lesson for training your Wind chakra in the scroll, okay?"

"Hai, hai..." Naruto sighed out as he started walking away again, a little irritated that he couldn't learn more at the moment. Watching him leave, Kakashi couldn't resist the slight smile from forming on his face under his mask. In almost two months, Naruto had gone from being rather anti-social to being not-so-anti-social; it was still there, but not quite as much. Thinking of something else, though, Kakashi pondered the bursts of the Kyuubi's chakra he had sensed several times throughout their time in Wave Country. They mostly surfaced during times of combat and they weren't extremely powerful, with the exception of the one time on the bridge, but they happened far too frequently for his liking.

It had been one other thing he had left out of his report to the Hokage. While it could become a serious problem later on, Kakashi wasn't going to risk anything happening to the boy. Very few people knew of the boy's parentage, but he did. He wasn't going to risk something bad happening to his late sensei's son and legacy. Mind wandering a little as he thought of his late sensei, Kakashi shivered a little bit, imagining Naruto using his father's most infamous technique...

 _'He's already one hell of a speed demon in a fight. If he learned_ that _, there'd be no stopping him. He'd be even scarier if he used Asuma's Hien fighting style with it.'_ Kakashi mused before shaking his head and clearing his mind. He was looking too far into the future. Besides, there was no gaurantee he'd even learn about the Hiraishin, let alone if he'd be able to use it or not. Reaching back into his pouch, Kakashi fingered a sealing scroll he always carried with him, once again weighing the pros and cons of training with the weapon he had recently added to his arsenal. Deciding to find a more secluded training ground where he wouldn't be disturbed, Kakashi started walking...

xXx

Days gave way to weeks as Team 7 went about their normal activities of training or missions. Already, two months had passed since she had come to Konoha and Haku couldn't be happier. Thankful that her new turtleneck was longer in the body and a little stretchy, Haku tugged it down until it reached half-way down her thighs, turning it into a make-shift skirt as she walked into the kitchen, her lower half barren of any leggings or pants; a habit she had developed after her first day living with Naruto.

Being almost summer, Naruto's apartment was always a little warmer than they'd like, but that was mostly because his air conditioning unit didn't work very well. Thus, she'd taken to going without pants in the mornings, having always been up long before Naruto. By the time he woke up, she usually had her pants back on, but with how hot it was starting to get in the village, Haku figured a change was needed for her usual attire. Also, having no reason to keep her gender hidden from others anymore, Haku had stopped binding her chest so tightly, allowing her small, yet modest B-cup breasts to subtly tent out the front of her turtleneck ever so slightly.

Humming quietly to herself as she started getting everything ready to make breakfast, Haku couldn't help smiling. Two months. They'd been together for two months already. Her nightmares had died off, only acting up every once in a while, and Naruto had opened up to her quite a bit recently. While it still bothered her, she now knew why everyone glared at him. The Kyuubi attacked the village on the night of his birth and because of something a mad man had done to Naruto when he was younger, his fox-like appearance had made him a target of hate for the civilians of the village. Granted, a portion of Konoha's ninja hated him as well, but they never took action against him.

He had finally cracked and told her about it after a rather nasty encounter she'd had with a group of drunken civilians one evening while walking back to the apartment from visiting Sakura. They weren't a threat to her, but they had quite a lot to say about her and Naruto. None of it was kind. One of them had tried getting handsy, but he quickly learned not to ever touch her again. Scared of her, they ran and had the nerve to try getting her in trouble the next day. Thankfully, the matter was resolved and the drunks charged with harrassment, the handsy one having been charged with attempted molestation. Naruto had been furious, to say the least, but she'd managed to calm him down and keep him from doing anything stupid.

Shaking her head and clearing it of such negative thoughts, Haku went back to making breakfast, humming once more as she started cracking some eggs and scrambling them. Her time in Konoha had been relatively peaceful and she was glad for it. She had been growing weary of always running, of always hiding. She didn't regret any of it, but she was glad that there had been good things to come from Zabuza's passing, no matter much it had hurt her. Naruto had been helping her acquire books and scrolls from the Shinobi Library to better refine some of her skills that helped strengthen what she already knew and even add a few new things to her repertoire of techniques and talents.

Naruto himself had been working hard to better himself. Even if he was still struggling with the Leaf Cutting excercise. Because of her bloodline, which automatically mixed Water and Wind chakra to create her ice techniques, Haku hadn't needed to learn how to form solely Wind chakra, keeping her from being able to help him with it. He had still been working on other things. He'd gotten much faster as he started thinking up new tricks to enhance his speed and had started working on increasing his physical strength. They usually had a weekly spar to keep their skills sharp at all times and Haku had to admit that if he was as skilled as he was now when they'd first fought, he would have most likely beat her.

Still humming softly with a smile on her face, Haku had just finished cooking everything when she felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist from behind. Giggling happily as she leaned against their owner, Haku couldn't help the blush from forming on her cheeks as Naruto lightly nibbled on her ear playfully. He always did that every morning when he woke up, whether she was in the kitchen getting breakfast ready or she was still in bed with him on the rare lazy day when they decided to sleep in a little while.

"Hehe...Good morning, Kitsune-kun." Haku greeted warmly as she turned around in his arms, noticing how Naruto hadn't even opened his eyes yet, something that made her giggle again. He tended to use his memory of his apartment's layout, his hearing, and his sense of smell to guide him in the mornings whenever she was cooking breakfast. He never was much of a morning person. "Did you sleep well?"

"Mm...Morning, Haku-chan." Naruto mumbled tiredly before lightly nudging her cheek with his nose, only to gently kiss her on the lips. Wrapping her arms around his neck and shoulders, Haku deepened the kiss, her lips parting to give his tongue access to her mouth as he pulled her closer to him. Moaning softly, Haku lightly ran her fingers through his fur before giggling a little and playfully slapping him on the back of his head when she felt his hand squeeze her butt, the sleepy fox-like teen whining as she broke the kiss. "Aw, c'mon...I was enjoying that."

"And your breakfast is getting cold because of it." Haku, still pantless, teased as she broke free of his arms with some reluctance before pushing him in the direction of the dining table. "Now, go sit down while I finish up."

"Meh...You're no fun." He grumbled half-heartedly while shuffling over to the table to sit down as he'd been told. Gently biting her bottom lip with a shy smile as she portioned everything out on to a pair of plates, Haku couldn't help blushing as she thought about how intimate they'd become recently. While they hadn't had sex, they most certainly enjoyed a healthy amount of 'heavy petting'...and Naruto wasn't to blame for it; she was. Suppressing a quiet giggle as she recalled the first time she'd actually _encouraged_ him to let his hands wander while they'd been making out, Haku realized just how innocent he really was. She thought he was going to have a heart attack that day when she moved his hands to her chest...

Also because of her, it didn't take him long to shed that innocence...

"Here you go. Eat up." Haku instructed as she set the plate in front of him with a kiss on the top of his head, a simple and loving morning ritual she had that always got him to open his eyes. Yawning tiredly, Naruto finally opened his eyes, if only slightly, before starting to eat. Sitting down across from him, Haku started eating as well, her cheeks still warm with a slight blush. She still couldn't believe she was two years older than him. Despite his younger age showing during little moments when they were alone together, Haku had always found him to be rather mature for his age. He definitely didn't act like he was sixteen, but she was glad that he still did every once in a while.

Hearing a quiet mewl from Ren, Haku watched what had become a common occurence. Eyes having closed again as he ate, Naruto's ear twitched slightly as Ren silently jumped up on top of the table. Sluggishly swatting at the cat, Naruto tried shooing Ren off the table, only for the sneaky cat to snag one of the sausage patties off his plate without him noticing. Giggling at the pair as Ren took off with his prize, Haku took another bite of her meal...

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	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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A Tale of Tails

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Chapter Five

He did his best to ignore the poison in everyone's eyes as he walked down the road, his scarf tugged up over his nose and his hands stuffed in his pockets. He did his best to ignore the hateful whispers and mutterings, his ears pinned back. It was the same shit every single day, people calling him a demon or monster or freak. It infuriated him to no end, but didn't do anything about it out of fear of someone trying to start trouble just to get him executed. It had happened three times before and he very nearly lost his life on the third attempt. That's why, as an empty sake bottle smashed against the back of his head, Naruto did his best to ignore it. That's why he did his best to ignore the blood trickling down the back of his neck, soaking his fur.

He didn't break stride. He didn't so much as look to see what his assailant looked like. He just kept walking. When his ears caught the sound of a second bottle, however, he waited until the last second before leaning his head to the side, catching it with one hand. Even still, he just kept walking, depositing the empty bottle in a trash can as he passed by it. Most people would have snapped a long time ago and either killed themselves or tried to kill everyone else by now if they had to live even a week in his shoes. Well...metaphorically speaking.

The reasons why he hadn't done either of those yet was simple. As much as they hated him, he still loved his village, so he would never kill them. Not all of them, at least. Maybe just the worst of them, his most avid haters. No...he couldn't even really do that. He couldn't even bring himself to seriously harm any of them. As for killing himself? He was too stubborn to just kill himself. He believed suicide to be the coward's way out and he was by no means a coward. Wanting to die, though? Six months ago, he would have still fought to the bitter end, but yeah...he wanted to die back then. Now, though, he finally had a reason to keep on going.

Finally reaching his apartment building, Naruto paused for a second and craned his neck to look up at the top balcony where his apartment was located. Smiling slightly beneath his scarf, Naruto trudged on to the stairs, his tail slowly flicking from side to side behind him. As badly as he wanted to escape the hatred and hide himself in Haku's embrace, Naruto took his time walking up the six flights of stairs. He had to give his healing factor time to stitch the back of his head up, not wanting Haku to notice the injury. She might know the 'official' reason for their animosity towards him, but the last thing he needed was for her to find out about the _real_ reason as to why everyone hated him, his burden.

He was scared of losing her because of it. An irrational fear, of course, but it was still a fear that had a strong grip on him...

Cleaning away the small bit of blood that matted the fur on the back of his head and neck just as he reached the top floor, Naruto fished his keys out of his pocket as he neared the door to their apartment. Unlocking the door and double checking to make sure the booby trap was still inactive, Naruto went inside and shut the door behind him, relocking it. Hanging his equipment and scarf on the wall, Naruto walked towards the bedroom since he hadn't seen her in the den or kitchen, but just as he neared the hallway, he heard the telltale sound of the shower running. As he focused his hearing on the bathroom, however, he heard Haku humming to herself in the shower.

Smiling at the sound, Naruto continued to the room to get a little more comfortable, depositing his trench knives on the nightstand. He took his time unraveling the cloth wrappings on his forelegs, lightly scratching at the slight scab left behind by the healed cut as it itched a little. Bundling up the twin obsidian fabric strips and tossing them into the laundry bin across the room so that they could be cleaned later, Naruto pulled his gloves and mesh shirt off as well, ruffling his fur a little bit in the process before they followed after the wrappings. Taking off his belt and running his thumb over the stylized leaf engraved on the plate, Naruto smiled slightly, remembering how he got it. It had been the same night he learned of his burden and had learned how to perform the Kage Bunshin technique...

"Oh, hey. When'd you get back?" Haku greeted as she walked into the room wearing a pair of dark blue shorts that stopped half way down her thighs and a light grey form fitting tank top, still drying her hair with a towel.

"Just a few minutes ago." He answered tiredly as she walked over to him, their lips meeting in a tender, but short lived kiss. Immediately noticing his mood, however, Haku looked at him worriedly before crouching down in front of him, looking him in the eye as she put a hand on his.

"Hey...You ok?" She asked softly, frowning slightly. Smiling weakly, he kissed her on the forehead.

"Yeah...I'm fine. Just a long day." He mumbled softly, but it did little to reassure her. Taking his hitai-ate from him and setting it on the nightstand, Haku dropped her towel on the ground before gently pushing him down so that he was laying on his back. Climbing on to his lap and stradling him, Haku laid down on top of him to keep him from going anywhere, running a hand over his head and along one of his long fox-like ears.

"You've only been gone for a few hours. Seriously, it's not even lunch time yet..." She whispered worriedly, looking him in the eye as he slowly relaxed beneath her, his hands resting on her hips. "What happened, baby?"

"..." Naruto was quiet as he turned his head to the side to stare at the wall. Grimacing slightly, Haku sighed softly before kissing him on the cheek, still 'petting' his ear slightly; she'd learned that it soothed him whenever she first did it about a month ago. They stayed like that for a couple minutes in silence before he sighed, closing his eyes. "I just don't know what to do anymore...No matter what I do, they flat out refuse to let go of their hatred..."

"I'm sorry, Naruto...I wish I could do something to help..." Haku mumbled softly, frowning as she tilted his head back towards her and kissed him on the lips again. Naruto smiled weakly again as he looked up at her, lightly dragging a finger along the side of her face, tucking a strand of her raven black hair behind an ear.

"You do more than enough, Haku." He whispered before pulling her closer, kissing her lovingly for a few moments. "You give me a reason to come home every day."

"You're such a hopeless romantic. You know that, right?" Haku responded lightheartedly before gently kissing him again. "Don't worry. They'll come around eventually."

"I've been telling myself that for years, Haku...They never do and they never will." He sighed out as he closed his eyes and simply held her, burying his nose in her damp hair. She'd switched shampoos again; she smelled of lilac and lavender now. They sat like that in silence once more for a few minutes before Naruto decided to change the subject. "Scarecrow nominated us for the Chuunin Exams today."

"Oh, really? I heard it can be pretty hard." Haku intoned, taking the hint to let the subject drop. "Do you know where it's being held this year?"

"Here in Konoha." He mumbled as Haku gently kissed the side of his neck just an inch or so below his ear. "They start next month."

"Hm...Don't worry, baby. You got this." Haku encouraged with a smile, taking one of his hands into her own, interlocking fingers with him as she relaxed on top of him. "If you can beat me, I have no doubt in my mind that you can beat them, too."

"Hmph...Thanks for the vote of confidence." Naruto grumbled sourly, getting a pouting glare from Haku. "I haven't actually beaten you yet...and the fight on the bridge doesn't count."

"And why the hell not?!" Haku questioned a little heatedly, but her anger was hollow. She was just upset that he wasn't taking her compliment.

"Because I had an unfair advantage." He countered, getting an unconvinced look from Haku as she sat up a little. That was when he realized his minor slip-up, his good mood soured once more as he looked away from her. Feeling her gaze on him still, he knew she wasn't going to let up this time. Closing his eyes, he felt like smacking the shit out of himself. _'Fuck...'_

"You mean that strange reddish chakra you used...don't you?" Haku questioned suspiciously, her eyes narrowing slightly as she sat up fully in his lap. When he didn't move or even acknowledge that he'd heard her, Haku started getting a little upset with him. "Naruto...Talk."

"I...I don't want to..." He whispered softly and despite the obvious notes of fear she heard in his voice, Haku wasn't going to give in so easily this time. Still, he was scared for a reason...and she was going to find out why.

"Six months, Naruto. That's how long we've been together." Haku whispered softly as she laid back down, resting her head on his chest with their hands still clasped together. Giving his hand a reassuring squeeze, Haku closed her eyes. "I'm not going anywhere. I promised you that you would never be alone again and I meant it. So, please...just tell me, baby."

"...They don't hate me just because of how I look, Haku..." He mumbled quietly, squeezing Haku's hand a little tighter. It was time for him to bite the blade, it seemed, and there was nothing he could do to avoid it. Haku only got honestly upset when she was serious about something. Once that happened, she wouldn't let up until she fixed the issue or found a way to settle things. "The night I was born, the Yondaime Hokage was forced to seal the Kyuubi no Kitsune inside of me to protect the village...That's why they all hate me, believing me to be the Kyuubi reborn..."

"...Was that all it was?" Haku whispered softly, surprising Naruto as she pulled her hand away from his and wrapped her arms around his neck, holding his head against her chest comfortingly. They sat in silence for a second before she explained, hearing his unspoken question loud and clear. "The Yondaime Mizukage back in Kiri had been a demon container himself, Naruto...I may not know much about them, but I know what they are. _You_ are not the Kyuubi, no matter what anyone may think or say. No matter what you look like. And to be honest, I've had my suspiciouns about it since the fight on the bridge. I just never brought it up, just in case I was wrong. Don't be scared, Naruto. I love you more than anything else in this world and nothing is ever going to change that. I'm not going anywhere..."

Naruto stayed silent as he wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her tight as she kissed the top of his head, stroking one of his ears again. Whereas in the past, he would have been crying out of sheer relief by that point, Naruto found himself only able to smile as he held the young woman. She was too good for him. Of that, he was certain. Reaching up to cup her cheek, Naruto waited until she moved so that they were eye level again before pulling her in for a loving kiss, pouring all of his gratitude and love for her into it. Closing her eyes as she felt him relax underneath her, Haku reciprocated the emotional and passionate kiss, reassuring her 'Kitsune-kun' of her heart-felt feelings for him.

Finally breaking apart for air a minute later, they simply stared into each others' eyes for a few moments. Cheeks flushed and left a little breathless from the passionate liplock, Haku smiled a little bit, a smile Naruto recognized all to well; she was getting excited. Leaning back down and capturing his lips in another kiss, this time forcing her tongue into his mouth, Haku couldn't resist pressing her hips against his, purposefully trying to rile him up as she slowly rocked her hips back and forth. Breaking the kiss after a little bit, Naruto didn't hesitate to latch on to the side of her neck, earning him a throaty moan as he started sucking on her flesh.

"N-Naruuu..." Haku moaned out weakly, fisting her hand in the fur on the back of his neck with one hand while the other gripped the hem of his pants at his hip. Slowly rolling them over to reverse their positions, Haku tilted her head back to give him better access to her throat while locking her ankles behind his waist just above the base of his tail. She could only grind her hips against his more frantically as she felt his hand move to her rear, groping just a tad roughly. A quiet whimpering moan escaped her before she forcefully detached him from her neck, capturing his lips in a heated kiss, her hand still fisted in his fur while her other hand dragged her nails down his back.

Playfully growling at him as she pulled back, his bottom lip caught in her teeth, Haku grinned a little seductively as she started grinding against him slower and more torturously. Hearing his own growl rumbling in his throat and chest, Haku only got even more excited, forcing her tongue into his mouth once more. She was going to enjoy pushing him to the brink time and time again, already planning to finally give him what he deserved on his upcoming birthday in a couple months. Until then, she was going to have fun relentlessly teasing him whenever she got the chance...

xXx

"Katon: Hosenka!" Sasuke declared while expelling a dozen or so fist-sized fireballs in rapid succession as Naruto charged him, trench knives drawn. Ducking and weaving between them without slowing down, Naruto rushed the Uchiha as he backpedaled as fast as he could. Unfortunately, Sasuke had lost track of his surroundings amongst the chaos for a moment and found himself backed up against a tree. In the blink of an eye, Naruto was in front of him, the blade of his knife lightly pressed against his neck as he came to a full stop.

"And that concludes today's final match." Kakashi spoke up as he landed nearby, the two separating while staring each other in the eye. It was the first time Naruto had managed to beat Sasuke in an unrestricted spar and he had to admit that he was impressed with Naruto's speed and tenacity. He waited a moment as he watched Naruto sheathe his blades before extending a fist toward Sasuke. Looking away, Sasuke begrudgingly bumped his fist against Naruto's; it had become a little quirk of theirs whenever they would finish a spar. They were definitely like brothers. "Alright, guys. I'm going to cut today's training session short. Be sure to get plenty of rest; the Chuunin Exams start tomorrow. Dismissed."

"Just so you know, Sasuke, if I'd been anyone else, I wouldn't have been able to beat you so quick." Naruto remarked as he started walking, idly rubbing at his left bicep where a fireball had come close enough to hitting him that singed a few of his hairs. "Whatever it is you've been doing, keep it up and I might not be able to beat you again. See you tomorrow, man."

"Yeah..." Sasuke mumbled out as he watched the fox-boy walk away. He was an enigma. For so long, they'd been at each others throats and then the events in Wave Country changed all of that. Neither Naruto nor Haku told him about what had transpired after he went down, but whatever it was, it drastically changed Naruto. He had started acting...almost nice to him at first and while it was a somewhat welcome change, Sasuke still hadn't been able to figure out why. Eventually, it became infectious and he started returning the respect he was shown. Over the past six months, it had developed into a mutual rivalry between them and Sasuke honestly didn't know how to take it...

Dismissing those thoughts for now, he turned and started walking away, intending to head home for a little more training to finish off the day. Plucking a leaf from a low-hanging branch as he started walking back to his apartment, Naruto put it between his hands and started concentrating, focusing his chakra just right. After a few seconds, he opened his hands to reveal that the leaf had been cut, but only half-way. Sighing, he let the leaf fall from his hand as he continued his journey. Oh, well. Progress was still progress.

"Aw, I missed the spar." Haku whined as she dropped down and fell in step with him. "I knew I should have wrapped things up with Sakura a little sooner."

"Don't worry. Depending on how things go in the Exams, you might see me and Sasuke actually go at it." Naruto reassured with a smirk, honestly excited to have a match with the two of them going all out against each other. "How's she doing in her studies, anyways?"

"Well, she's about as accurate with senbon as I was when we first met. She's got the basics of anatomy and herbology down, but she's still learning how to make medicine out of the herbs she knows about." Haku answered thoughtfully, her hands clasped behind her back. "Still, she's gotten better with her taijutsu. _A lot_ better. Almost scarily so. I'm just taking a shot in the dark here, but I'm pretty sure she's got an Earth affinity. It would definitely explain that freakish strength of her's..."

"That's good. I'd hate for me and Sasuke to be the only ones getting stronger after all this time." Naruto admitted before glancing over at Haku. "You sure you don't want me to talk to the Old Man about trying to get you into the ranks? You'd make one hell of a sensei."

"Shush..." Haku mumbled, blushing slightly at the praise, thankful for her new chosen outfit helping to hide her embarrassment.

She had taken to wearing a pair of black form-fitting three-quarter length pants, a black form-fitting top with mesh short-sleeves, a baggy dark midnight blue nose-high collar top with baggy sleeves that cut off at her finger tips and light grey trim along the edges and cuffs, and a light grey sash wrapped around her waist with one end left to hand down to her knees in the front. Like usual, she kept a set of three senbon holsters strapped to either of her thighs, an equipment pouch situated behind either of her hips, and a larger one situated between them that usual held her medical supplies. She had even acquired a new mask, but she rarely wore it.

"Seriously, you would. I'm pretty sure if we talked to him and explained everything, you could become a chuunin without much of an issue." Naruto continued, only making Haku's blush worsen. "They could use someone like you there. It'd be good work."

"Keep it up. I dare you..." Haku mumbled threateningly, prodding him in the side with a senbon. Yelping slightly as he flinched away, Naruto half-heartedly glared at her while rubbing his side where she poked him.

"Spoil sport." He grumbled while tugging his scarf up over his nose. Exiting the training ground near the edge of town, Naruto led her down a lesser used path to avoid the hatred of the villagers. Smiling as she slipped under his arm and leaned her head against his chest and shoulder, Naruto wrapped his arm around her waist. "So, what should we do to spend our afternoon now that we've got some free time?"

"I heard there's a new couples onsen not too far from here..." Haku 'innocently' suggested. Giving her a flat stare as his cheeks warmed, Naruto simply sighed and shook his head as she grinned at him sheepishly; she'd been acting a little fiesty recently. "Can't say I didn't try."

"I was thinking more along the lines of something that didn't involve me smelling like wet dog..." He grumbled irritably while Haku groaned quietly in complaint. He had a point, though. For some reason, anytime he visited the hot springs with her, he always wound up smelling like wet dog by the time they left. While she found it kind of funny, he obviously didn't. Then again, his sense of smell was much stronger than her's. Before either of them could continue, a couple kids laughing and playing ran by, obviously playing 'ninja' with each other as they scurried off, something that brought a warm smile to Haku's lips as she nuzzled his shoulder lovingly. "Don't even think about it. Maybe in the future, but I don't do kids..."

"Oh, shut up! I can dream, can't I?" Haku grumbled with a pout, her cheeks flushed heatedly. Their conversation was cut short, however, when they heard one of the kids cry out in pain as they rounded a corner just up ahead. Immediately releasing one another, they rushed ahead just to make sure the kid was okay, only to find him held up in the air by his scarf by an unfamiliar face. Haku was already readying a handful of senbon from within the confines of her sleeve while Naruto advanced ahead of her.

"Put the kid down, Suna-nin." Naruto warned as he flexed his claws. Wearing an all-black cat-eared onesie, the face-painted Suna shinobi turned to look at him, but didn't let go of the kid. Even still, Naruto kept advancing while drawing his trench knives. "Last warning."

"Heh. Looks like the freaks are coming out of the woodwork." Kankuro taunted as he eyed the fox-boy, using his free hand to connect a chakra string to his foot as he took another step, intending to trip him up. However, he misjudged Naruto's balance. As his foot was forcefully moved, Naruto's eyes widened slightly in surprise before his tail and reflexes kicked in, causing him to use it to his advantage. Spinning on his other foot, Naruto added chakra to the greave on his other leg, the twin crimson claw-blades extending instantly as his foot became level with the Suna genin's neck. Freezing as the blade tips lightly pressed against his throat, Kankuro held his free hand up in submission while setting the kid down, who scurried off to his friends as they hid behind Haku. "Alright, alright...No need to get hostile."

"Keep your hands to yourself while your here, Suna-nin. Anything done outside of the Exams can be seen as a crime." Naruto cautioned as he retracted his blades and lowered his leg back down. "And for your information, that kid just so happens to be the Hokage's grandson. Touch him again and I'll personally see to your punishment."

"Tch...Cocky little shit, aren't you?" Kankuro growled, half tempted to pick a fight with him before remembering his warning. It was true. Any fighting outside of the Chuunin Exams would immediately disqualify all parties involved and that was _before_ they'd be punished by their respective village's. He'd heard of people getting punished with things as simple as a two-week suspension to being executed for their actions. He wasn't so willing to push his luck. Plus, his little brother would probably kill him if he got them kicked out of the Exams. "You win this time, _fox_ , but you better watch your back later."

"I'll be waiting, _puppeteer_." Naruto growled back in response, surprising Kankuro a little bit, having already figured out what he'd done to throw him off balance. Waiting until the puppeteer and the fan-toting blonde with him left the area, Naruto sheathed his trench knives with a growling huff.

"Thanks for the save, Kitsune-onii-san!" The Hokage's grandson, Konohamaru, called out before he and his two friends ran off once more, being a little more careful as they booked it around a corner. Eyebrow twitching slightly at his new apparent nickname, Naruto sighed heavily while Haku slipped back under his arm, retaking her old position with a teasing grin.

"You don't do kids, huh?" She teased, getting a half-hearted glare from her boyfriend in return. It only made her laugh and for him to growl irritably; she wasn't going to let it go now. Still, he found himself even more excited about the Chuunin Exams now. There were sure to be some strong opponents to fight...and he always did love a challenge...

xXx

The next day, Naruto waited for his team mates to show up from under the shade of a tree that was near the entrance for the Academy grounds, his arms crossed over his chest and scarf pulled up over his nose. He'd seen a good number of potential threats amongst the foreign shinobi that plagued the area like a swarm of locusts, but that was about it. Half of the crowd seemed more like fodder to him. Hopefully, the Exams would weed them out before he got to them. He didn't like hollow victories...

"Ready to go?" Sasuke suddenly spoke up as he and Sakura drew closer, getting a snort from the fox-boy in confirmation without him looking at them. Without wasting another second, Naruto shoved off the tree and started heading inside with his team, fully prepared for the challenges to come...

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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A Tale of Tails

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Chapter Six

He could feel it bubbling beneath the surface, anxious to break free and run rampant. Pupils contracting into razor blades, Naruto watched everyone around him with narrowed eyes, leaning back against the wall just off to the side of the others with his thumbs hooked on the holsters to his trench knives. Blood lust was heavy in the air and it was causing...some unwanted side effects. Just like in Wave Country, he could feel the beginnings of a chakra spike in his body, his nerves set on a hair trigger. After experiencing them so much back then, he'd grown somewhat accustomed to how they felt, letting him know when one was starting to form.

Listening for any nearby threats, Naruto let his mind wander a little bit. The chakra spikes had stopped after the fight on the bridge and hadn't happened since. So why now? Could his stress level be a trigger? Or could it be his latent battle lust? His stress level was ruled out almost instantly; just being in the village stressed him out. He never knew when he'd be attacked or provoked by the villagers, leaving him slightly paranoid despite his inaction against them. It had to be his battle lust, something he'd developed after that pale-skinned freak fucked with his DNA. He'd been five when he'd been taken prisoner and now, eleven years later, what had originally just a somewhat violent short-temper had turned into something a little worse...

But he could control it, to a degree. He couldn't summon it on command, but it always came at the most crucial of times. Even though it seemed to activate at random, Naruto had figured it out. It _wasn't_ random. He could only deduce that it was the Kyuubi's doing, amplifying him with it's chakra whenever he was in a fight with shinobi stronger than him, almost as if it could sense and gauge their level of power. The only chakra spike that hadn't followed those same rules had been the one that happened when he was fighting Haku; that time, he'd triggered it himself, so it definitely had a secondary trigger tied into his emotions, but it wasn't as controlled.

 _'If it's already starting to act up, that means there are some pretty strong opponents here.'_ Naruto mused with a slight frown, his eyes scanning the crowded room. _'I'll have to be careful. If it spikes during a fight, I'll know to fight them seriously, but I'm not taking any chances. Be smart about this, Naruto. Conserve your chakra whenever possible and don't waste your energy on pointless things.'_

"How about Uzumaki Naruto?" He heard someone inquire, their tone edged with aggression. Eyes locking on to the source, he saw Inuzuka Kiba glaring at him as he conversed with...a strangely familiar smelling teen with silver hair and glasses. The blood lust and mingling myriad of scents made it difficult to pinpoint it specifically, but Naruto had a gut feeling that he knew the weird boy. Pushing off the wall and approaching the group, Naruto kept his eyes locked on the canine-like teen; they'd always been at odds since he first joined the Academy. Like most of his other haters, Kiba had had a grudge against him for the past nine years because of his fox-like appearance and scent.

"Hm, let's see. Uzumaki Naruto, member of Team 7 under Hatake Kakashi." Kabuto began, looking over the 'nin-info' card in his hand. "Mission history: eight D-ranks and one C-rank. His taijutsu is high, but not much is known about his skills in ninjutsu and genjutsu, although he does favor the Kage Bunshin technique on occassion. He's extremely skilled with kunai and a pair of trench knives he uses. Hm...There's a note here saying that he'd been kidnapped as a child and experimented on by-"

"That's enough of that." Naruto snarled, a kunai piercing the card on him and ripping it out of Kabuto's hand, staking it to the ground. A second later, the card was engulfed in a puff of smoke, the information destroyed. Kabuto narrowed his eyes ever so slightly at it; the only way to destroy the information was for chakra other than his own to go through it, precaution he'd added to them. That meant Naruto had put chakra into his kunai when he threw it, but...why? Did he know? Did he recognize him? "There are some things that shouldn't be dug up. Speaking of which..."

Kabuto wasn't able to react in time before Naruto wrapped a hand around the older teen's throat, lifting him off the ground until his feet were no longer touching the floor. Kabuto gripped Naruto's wrist as he glared down at the boy, only to notice the burning red eyes glaring back at him. Lightly pressing the tip of another kunai against Kabuto's cheek, Naruto narrowed his eyes even more with a snarl.

"How did you come across that information?" He growled quietly, ignoring the startled looks from his old classmates. "That had been highly classified by the Hokage ten years ago. So, how?!"

"STAND DOWN, UZUMAKI!" Someone suddenly roared from the front of the room, appearing in a large cloud of smoke as nearly two dozen Konoha shinobi appeared via Shunshin simultaneously. Naruto glared at the speaker out of the corner of his eye as they shifted back to blue, his ears pinned back...but he reluctantly let Kabuto stand on his own and retracted his kunai. Standing at the front of the group was a man many feared; Morino Ibiki, head of Konoha's Torture and Interrogation Department. "Keep it up and you'll be disqualified!"

"Whatever you say, Scarface..." Naruto snarled quietly as he stepped away from Kabuto, sheathing the two kunai he'd drawn. His clawed fingers flexed as he itched to draw his trench knives, wanting to know where Kabuto had learned about his past and why he seemed so insufferably familiar. Other than that, he did his best to ignore some of the looks his old classmates were giving him, most of them already biased against him like Kiba. And most of the village. However, he could still sense a couple of them second-guessing their opinions of him as they drew up their own conclusions about his past.

"Alright, listen up, all of you. From this point on, there will be no fighting without the permission of the examiner. Even if permission is granted, killing your opponent will not be tolerated." Ibiki informed, speaking loud enough for everyone to hear him just fine. "The swine that disobey me will be failed immediately. Am I understood?"

After a few seconds of silence, Ibiki smirked sadistically, unnerving a couple of the less experienced genin present.

"Good. We will now start the first test of the Chuunin Exams. Instead of your current seating arrangements, you will be collecting one of these numbered tabs..." Ibiki instructed, holding up one such tab to his audience. "...and sit in the seat assigned to you. After everyone is seated, we will then hand out the exams."

 _'A paper test...'_ Naruto thought irritably with a quiet growl. _'Just fucking wonderful...'_

xXx

"It sure is boring without my team..." Kakashi sighed out as he leaned back into the couch, an arm draped over the edge as he stared up at the ceiling with a half-lidded eye. Ashing his cigarette, Asuma chuckled slightly at the man's complaint.

"Don't worry, Kakashi. You'll be busy again soon." The Sarutobi 'reassured' with a smirk. "I heard that the examiner for the first test is Morino Ibiki."

"...Eh..." Kakashi grunted out quietly without taking his eyes off the ceiling, confusing Asuma and Kurenai as they waited in the jounin lounge. "That sadist might scare the hell out of the others, but my team will be fine. They doesn't scare so easy."

"Sadist?" Kurenai parroted curiously.

"The man's a pro..." Asuma answered as he took a drag of his death stick.

"A...pro?" She repreated once more, looking at Asuma with a slightly narrowed gaze. She was a little irritated by the useless answer. "A pro of what?"

"Torture and Interrogation." Asuma responded with a smirk, startling Kurenai slightly as she worried for her team...

xXx

"To the 78 who remain!" Ibiki began, raising his voice simply to instill just a tad bit more fear into the genin in front of him for his personal enjoyment before smirking. "Congratulations on passing the first test!"

"Wait...What do you mean? We already pass?" Sakura was the first to speak up, most of the people in the room shocked and confused by the revelation. "What about the tenth question?"

Leaning back in his chair, Naruto kept his arms crossed over his chest, scarf pulled up and ears perpetually pinned back as he narrowed his eyes at the man. He'd struggled through half of the test, managing to answer a couple on his own without too much of an issue before being forced into cheating for the rest, which hadn't been easy. His hearing was good, but he had to focus hard to properly time the sound of someone's pencil with their strokes to essentially 'guesstimate' what they were writing. Even still, half of the answers he acquired that way turned out to be just gibberish from his mistakes, leaving his test incomplete.

Luckily, he managed to call the man's bluff by betting everything on the tenth question...

"There was never a tenth question." Ibiki answered with a grin that uneased a few people, even a couple of the proctors assisting him; Ibiki was not a man known for having a nice or friendly smile. "Or rather, you could say that the two choices you had to make were the tenth question."

"What?! Then what were the first nine questions were for?!" Demanded the blonde fan-wielding girl he'd seen with the Suna puppeteer yesterday. Even before Ibiki answered, Naruto figured it out, closing his eyes for a moment; information gathering. "They were pointless then!"

"But they weren't. They had already served their intended purpose." Ibiki answered somewhat casually, further confusing most of the genin present. That was when he gained a rather sadistic look in his eyes, his grin shifting to a more purposefully frightening look. "They were to test your individual information gathering skills. _That_ was their purpose."

Tuning out the man's explanation, Naruto felt the beginnings of another chakra spike coming on, but managed to suppress it with some effort. They were getting more frequent. Why, though? He wasn't in combat, he wasn't getting stressed by anything, and while there were still strong potential opponents around him, there was no blood lust in the air at the moment. Idly wishing he could actually speak with the Kyuubi at the moment, Naruto figured he'd be able to get answers from the beast itself, but it wasn't to be. He couldn't establish contact through meditation, the only method he had figured would work.

So...how would he manage it? Was he stuck trying to solve the mystery of the chakra spikes by himself? Not exactly a foreign concept for him, Naruto grimaced slightly regardless. As much as he liked a challenge, the chakra spikes were a challenge outside of his capabilities. He'd already discarded the theory of them being the Kyuubi attempting to break free; the Sandaime had explained to him a long time ago that the seal had been put into place by the Shinigami itself by the Yondaime and was designed to bind their souls together. If he died, so would the Kyuubi and if the fox tried forcing its way out, it would kill him inthe process, thus ending both of their lives. Even if the Fox would just reform after a few years.

At that point, was it trying to do something to him? If so, what? Apart from spikes in his aggression, chakra, strength, and speed, he hadn't noticed anything different. It was starting to grate on his nerves. Scratching at his head slightly out of irritation, Naruto decided to think about it later when he wasn't busy...

"You have all made it through the entrance. The first test of the Chuunin Selection Exam is now over." Ibiki stated with a touch of pride on his face. "I wish you guys luck."

"Feh...Nice speech, Scarface. Did you need help writing it?" Naruto grumbled sarcastically, ignoring the fact that he hadn't even listened to any of it. Eyeing him, Ibiki smirked slightly. While the other proctors hadn't noticed the boy when he was 'cheating', Ibiki had. With only his hearing to aid him, he managed rather decently. Despite having never met before, Ibiki had been one of the very few shinobi in Konoha that kept close tabs on the boy. Originally, it had been a precaution, just in case the boy's loyalty had shifted over to Orochimaru's side when he'd been rescued.

As time went by and his name had been 'cleared', Ibiki had taken a minor interest in the fox-boy; while his Academy grades had suffered, Naruto was far more intelligent than many gave him credit for. Keeping tabs on the kid had proven worthwhile. It had shed light on the corruption taking place in the Academy, corruption within the Civilian Council, and even in certain parts of the ANBU. Most of it had been tied to misplaced hatred towards him, but some of those that had been brought to him were proven to have commited treason in various ways.

Before anything else could be said or done, a dark bundle suddenly crashed through one of the windows, only to unfurl and reveal itself to be a banner staked to the ceiling with a pair of kunai, a woman standing in front of it. As she made her 'entrance', Ibiki frowned tiredly from behind the banner. His second-in-command was a very...strange individual...

"This is no time to be celebrating, brats! I am the examiner for the second test!" She shouted. "Mitarashi Anko! Now, let's go! Follow me!"

"You have poor timing..." Ibiki grumbled as he stepped around the banner, but his remark went unheard by the purple haired woman as she quickly counted the remaining genin in the room.

"...Seventy-eight?! You let twenty-six teams pass?!" Anko growled out at Ibiki. "The test was too easy this time!"

"No, there just happened to more outsanding candidates this year." Ibiki corrected with a slight smirk, but once more, it did nothing to change Anko's attitude.

"Bah...Whatever." Anko muttered. "I'll be sure to cut them in half in the second test!"

"Must you always yell?" Naruto growled at her, picking at one of his ears in an effort to ease the discomfort. "There's no need to shout all the time."

"Oh, did I hurt your ears, pup?" Anko asked tauntingly, only making Naruto's eyes narrow, the fox-boy oblivious to how they flashed red for a split second. It only made Anko grin rather viciously. "Ahh...I'm getting excited. I'll explain everything once we change locations! Follow me!"

"Feh..." Naruto scoffed as the woman jumped back out the window before standing up himself to follow after her. "Fucking psycho lady..."

Minutes later, once the room had been cleared, Ibiki was gathering up the test sheets when he ran across Naruto's. Half of the answers were filed in, correctly, while the other half was left blank. However, scribbled in a corner of the page was a clawed paw-like hand...giving the middle finger. Sighing heavily, Ibiki added it to the stack he had.

xXx

"So...that's what a Fuuton technique can do..." Naruto growled out quietly as he got back to his feet, having been thrown a so far unknown distance by a powerful gust of wind. First, they get attacked by that Ame genin that tried waiting to ambush one of them before he'd tracked him down and chased him off. Now this? Catching wind of the distinct stench of snake, Naruto glared off to the side to find the largest serpent he'd ever encountered, but it did little to scare him; he was too pissed off to care about its size. "I hate snakes..."

Drawing a kunai, Naruto glared at it while concentrating for a moment, channeling his chakra into it while doing his best to imbue it with his Wind affinity. Flicking his hand and sending the blade flying, Naruto watched as it pierced straight through the snake's head, killing it instantly, before going through the branch behind it. Snorting softly, Naruto tugged his scarf up over his nose while taking off in the direction he'd come from. While it wasn't perfect, he was satisfied with the potential of his Wind chakra; he'll have to focus on it after the Exams.

Nearing where he could smell his team, though, Naruto suddenly caught wind of a scent he hadn't smelled for a long time. One that made his eyes widen in shock and old fear, one that made his blood boil like lava in his veins, one that triggered a chakra spike as the same intensity as the fight on the bridge in Wave Country...

"Prey should always be trying to run away..." The strange Kusa genin nearly hissed as he stood from the corpse of a large snake he'd been inhabiting. "In the presence of a predator, that is..."

Surging forward and spiraling around the tree limbs between him and Sasuke like a serpent himself, the Kusa genin was suddenly forced to stop half-way as a handful of chakra-imbued kunai punched through the branches in front of him, destroying his original path towards his chosen prey. Everyone looked up to find Naruto crouched down on a branch on all fours, his eyes blood red and fur ruffled, his tail flicking with pure anger.

"Sasuke. Get Sakura out of here..." Naruto snarled from his perch, his gaze locked directly on to the Kusa genin. "I have unfinished business with him..."

"Naruto, don't play the hero! He's on an entirely different level than anyone we've ever faced before!" Sasuke yelled back, but his words weren't reaching the fox-boy like he wanted to. Naruto threw a kunai down near him, the chakra imbue dagger punching through the wood just a couple feet away from the Uchiha.

"I. Said. RUN!" Naruto roared out as he sprung from the branch, his crimson claw-blades extending and silver trench knives in hand, each one faintly glowing with his partially Wind-imbued chakra as he rocketed towards the Kusa shinobi. Smirking with blood thirst, the Kusa-nin simply stared at Naruto before the fox-teen slammed into him, the area around them being destroyed in an explosion of mulched wood and sawdust instantly upon impact.

"Shit! What the hell has gotten into him?!" Sasuke snarled as he landed on another branch with Sakura, watching as the multicolored blur that was Naruto chase down the speeding snake-like genin they'd been ambushed by. "He's going berserk!"

A little shocked by the boy's speed, the Kusa genin was actually being _forced_ to backpedal as fast as he could, dodging and weaving the destructive swipes of his chakra-infused claw-blades. Darting through the branches in random directions, the Kusa genin lost sight of the boy for only a split second as a large tree branch fell between them, forcing Naruto to simply burst through it in his rampage. The Kusa genin grinned as Naruto sped after him, only for his eyes to widen with surprise as a second appeared directly next to him, having come from a different angle while rapidly spinning through the air.

 _'He's fast!'_ The Kusa genin thought to himself just before impact, the second fox-boy having become a whirling drill of blades that cut him to shreds, only to be revealed that he'd been a clone. One made with mud that got splattered all around the area by the attack. Snarling as he landed heavily on another branch, his eyes darting up as the Kusa genin descended upon from above. Bolting to the side with a single mighty shove to dodge them, Naruto kicked off a tree hard enough to cave in part of the trunk before slamming back into them. Once more, they proved to be a mud clone...

"He wouldn't behave like this without a reason, Sasuke." Sakura explained, the pair watching as their teammate battled it out with their ambusher. "I don't know how he got so strong and I don't care. Right now, I...I hate to say it, but I think we should listen to him and run."

"No!" Sasuke snapped, shrugging off Sakura's hand when she tried to grab his arm to pull him along. Glaring down at the two from where they were, a strange sense of deja vu coming over him. Was this the reason why Naruto never talked about what happened on the bridge? Was this...the same kind of feeling Naruto had back in Wave Country when he thought he'd been killed? Clenching his teeth, Sasuke lost sight of them for a split second, only to look up at a sound just in time to find the gaping maw of a giant snake lunging at them. That is, until a familiar blur slammed into the snake's nose, stopping it completely just as its fanged lodged into the thick tree branch the two were standing on...

"I told you...to run..." Naruto snarled through gnashed fangs, an almost crazed, yet lucid look in his scarlet eyes as he glared up at Sasuke. Eyes going wide as he felt a freakishly long tongue wrap around his body, Naruto kicked his legs up, bracing his feet against Sasuke's and Sakura's chest before kicking them off the branch, launching them further away. "GET OUT OF HERE!"

"My, my, Naruto-kun...I never thought you'd become such a self-sacrificial hero." The 'Kusa genin' taunted, somehow managing to speak perfectly fine around his own tongue as he suspended Naruto in the air directly in front of him with it. Snarling like something akin to a rabid animal, Naruto struggled to break free from the man's hold on him. "Still, I'm surprised to see you've grown so strong...for a failed experiment."

Disguised as the Kusa genin, Orochimaru couldn't help smirking humorlessly. He'd tried putting a Cursed Seal on the boy when he'd first captured him, but it malfunctioned for some reason. He deduced that it had been because of the Kyuubi's presence, but he never could figure out why exactly. Either way, it had immediately ruined his plans for the boy once it had turned him into a humanoid fox. Thus, he simply left the boy imprisoned under his 'care', but he still performed a few simple experiments on him to learn as much as he could about the boy's new physiology. By the time Konoha had discovered the lab and raided it, however, Orochimaru had already been long gone...

"I'll...kill you..." Naruto hissed through his gnashed teeth, only growing angrier...and stronger, something that started to worry the traitorous member of the Sannin. Before he could seal away the Kyuubi's power, however, Orochimaru watched with bewildered eyes as he watched...a second tail start to sprout from the base of the boy's spine right beside his original one. Snapping back into focus as it finished, Orochimaru tightened his hold on Naruto while drawing a hand back, his finger tips burning with purple flames.

"Gogyou Fuuin!" Orochimaru snarled before slamming his hand into Naruto's stomach where the original seal was located, hidden beneath his dense fur. Screaming in pain, Naruto's eyes went wide, his vision gradually going dark from the pain and from his strength being drained from him. Finally blacking out and hanging limply, Orochimaru eyed the unconscious fox-child with mild shock and intrigue; could they be fusing together? Or was it some kind of side-effect from the malfunctioning Cursed Seal? The second was more likely, the Cursed Seal he'd used having been an experimental prototype that he had scrapped because of its failure upon first use. "Stupid boy...You really thought you could kill me, didn't you?"

Without another thought, Orochimaru threw him to the side, causing the boy to slam into a massive tree trunk not that far away before falling a good ten feet to a branch below. Turning his attention back towards Sasuke, Orochimaru grinned. He was going to have fun testing the boy, his second-stage Sharingan eyes glaring up at him from his spot further down below...

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	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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A Tale of Tails

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Chapter Seven

 _'Alright, Sakura. Time to get to work.'_ The pinkette told herself as she finished making sure Sasuke's condition was still stable, having already placed a number of precautionary traps around the area, her ungloved hands and face smeared with a little bit of dirt. After Orochimaru bit Sasuke and put some weird mark on his shoulder, Sakura, after an admittedly embarrassing fit of hysterical crying and panic, managed to move both of her teammates to another location. Currently holed up amongst the thick exposed roots of a tree, she had addressed Sasuke's condition first due to its severity; high fever, abnormally high heart rate, and obvious signs of being in pain, if the unconscious groans were anything to go by. Naruto, on the other hand, was comatose; it was almost as if he were simply sleeping. No fever, no issues with his heart rate or breathing, nothing. Just...unconscious.

Rummaging through her equipment pouches, she retrieved the small assortment of medicinal herbs she kept on her at all times. If they pulled through and managed to survive the Exams, she would have to make sure she thanked Haku for the lessons. It just might be the one thing that saves their lives at the moment. Pulling out her pestle and mortar, Sakura took small pieces of different herbs and placed them in the mortar before starting to grind them down as fine as she could with the pestle; just like Haku had taught her. One herb had been for Sasuke's fever and another to help ease his pain. She couldn't do much about his heart rate, however, apart from a very mild sedative. She had to be careful, though. If she messed up the dosage for each one, they could have deadly side effects; the last thing she ever wanted to do was accidentally kill one of her teammates...

Retrieving a small water bottle she kept on her at all times, she poured it into the little pot she had unsealed earlier before setting it on the small fire burning nearby. Once she was done grinding the herbs down, the water had finished heating up just enough; hot, but nowhere close to boiling. Pouring it back into the bottle, she added in the powdered herbs and closed the lid, shaking the bottle to better mix it up. Shifting her position so that Sasuke's head was resting in her lap, she opened the bottle and slowly poured a little bit into Sasuke's mouth. Fortunately, he swallowed reflexively.

 _'Thank goodness. Haku-san hasn't taught me how to force feed someone herbal medicine yet for emergency situations.'_ Sakura thought with a sigh of relief, only to return to the task at hand. She had maybe an hour of sunlight left before the first night of the second test would begin. With both of her teammates out of commission, she'll have to stay awake and keep watch all night and into the day until one of them woke up. After making sure Sasuke drank at least half of the hastily made medicinal tea, she set it aside before readying another water bottle. Only this time, it was something for herself. She would need something to help keep her awake later on. Thankfully, Haku had given her a small supply of already ground up and blended herbs for just such an occassion. _'I definitely have to thank her now, but first, I have to make sure we survive long enough to do it.'_

xXx

Taking another sip of her 'energizing' herbal tea, Sakura immediately grimaced at the foul taste just like every other time she'd taken a sip each hour. A couple seconds later, however, she had to take a deep breath as a slight shiver ran up her spine; Haku had said the herbs used were rather strong and that one small bottle should last her a good twelve hours or so. She'd waited until she started getting too tired to keep her eyes open before she started drinking it, which she guessed to have been around three or four in the morning. Even as the sun started coming up, Sakura didn't feel the slightest bit exhausted, but she'd have to make sure she either made the tea last or one of the boys woke up before she ran out; she'll be left drained after the herbs' energizing effects wear off.

Hearing a noise off to the side, however, she reflexively threw a senbon at the source, startling the squirrel she'd heard. Heaving a sigh, she looked at the bottle; it definitely made her a little jumpy, but that's exactly what she needed at the moment. Checking Sasuke's fever, she smiled faintly upon noticing that it'd gone down slightly. Not by much, but it was enough to show that he was starting to get better. Unfortunately, she didn't have anything to gauge Naruto with. She would just have to wait until he woke up. Taking a moment to use the remnants of her third and final water bottle, Sakura poured some water on the rag she'd had on Sasuke's head before placing it back on the Uchiha's forehead.

"Heh...Up all night?" Someone asked mockingly from behind her, making Sakura's head snap in their direction, only to see a trio of genin that wore a hitai-ate with a musical note engraved on it. She faintly remembered Kabuto saying something about Otogakure having only one team in the Exams. The girl looked unassuming, for the most part, while her two male comrades were a little more menacing, the bandaged and hunched over one with what looked like shag carpeting on his back being the most intimidating in appearance. "Regardless, wake up Sasuke-kun. We want to fight him."

"You're with that freaky bastard, Orochimaru, aren't you?" Sakura questioned, her tone turning surprisingly cold as she stood up, stepping out to the edge of the haven of tree roots as she readied a handful on senbon with one hand and a kunai with the other in a reverse-grip. Eyes narrowing as she scowled, Sakura tilted her head slightly; this time, it the Oto genins' turn to hesitate, mildly intimidated by the seemingly weak looking girl's dark change in personality. "I know he's the one pulling the strings. What did he do to Sasuke-kun? What is that weird mark on his neck? Answer me quickly before you really make me mad."

"Hmm...Just what was he thinking?" Dosu muttered to himself, his own head tilting slightly. The other male simply grinned viciously.

"Hearing that, we're just going to have to kill you, now won't we? You know too much." Zaku remarked threateningly before cracking his knuckles. "I've got this one. I'll kill her first and then I'm killing that Sasuke kid."

"Wait, Zaku." Dosu spoke up as he took a step forward before crouching down. "You're not very good...A recently overturned stone, differently colored dirt. Grass doesn't grow here...A booby trap is useless unless it goes unnoticed."

"..." Sakura stayed silent as she continued to stare at them coldly.

"Kill her." Dosu ordered. Immediately, all three jumped towards over, clearing the trap they'd discovered. Smirking faintly, Sakura cut the wire to a second trap with her kunai that had been run along the root beside her. Instantly, a massive log that was easily twenty feet in diameter came swinging down from above, all three caught in its path. Extending his gauntleted right hand, Dosu didn't flinch nor did his teammates as the log exploded from some unseen force, only for their eyes to widen when they saw Sakura's senbon already in flight to intercept them.

"Senbon Kage Bunshin." The pinkette uttered just as coldly as before, forming a half-seal with her empty hand, causing the three metal senbon to turn into thirty. Raising their arms defensively to shield their most vital spots, all three Oto genin were pelted with the metal throwing needles, but it did little to hinder them. Sakura knew that, having used them as a distraction. Throwing her kunai, she performed two more handseals. "Kunai Kage Bunshin...Katsu."

 _'Exploding tags?!'_ Dosu thought to himself as he saw the dozen kunai flying towards them, the exploding tags wrapped around their handles catching fire before detonating as they reached the still air-borne Oto genin. While only scratched up and a little charred, the three Oto-nin were still knocked back by the explosion, sending them flying straight into another trap she'd set earlier. Feeling wires snap as they flew into them, the three Oto-nin weren't prepared for the hailstorm of kunai launched at them from all angles while they were still heading straight for the ground.

"Zankuuha!" Zaku roared as he held his hands out to either side of him, aiming his hands just right so as not to hit his teammates. Instantly, explosive gusts of wind burst forth from his palms to blow away a large majority of the kunai flying towards them, giving them the ability to land on their feet with only Kin taking a single kunai to her left thigh. "Tch...Cheeky bitch."

"Good. You're not dead." Sakura remarked while cracking her gloved knuckles, a slight twitch forming under her left eye. Ever since Wave Country, she'd been working on something of her own with a bit of help from Haku. Although still of a sound mind and relatively sane, Sakura had always had a slight split personality since she was kid, her 'Inner-Self', in a manner of speaking. While on its own, it was slightly crazed and not all that capable of forethought, Sakura had been trying different ways of...blending her two halves together.

Even Haku had admitted that once she had figured out how to do it last month, Sakura became a terrifying strategist due to her high intelligence and resourcefulness. Combined with her recently increasing physical might, she was nothing short of a monster in a fight. A young and so-far inexperienced monster, but a monster nonetheless...

She liked to call it Shinri Kuro.

"Let's have some fun, shall we?" Drawing a kunai with one hand, Sakura threw it at the trap they'd found earlier, something she had actually done on purpose, while the three Oto genin tried rushing her again. As it hit the ground moments before the three enemies came within a few meters of it, she promptly yanked on the nearly invisible thread attached to it, triggering the trap. Immediately, the ground opened up beneath them, revealing the spike-infested pitfall trap she'd set up yesterday. Unfortunately, Zaku and Dosu avoided it easily enough while Kin lost her footing at the last possible second, resulting in her clinging to the far edge of the trap, only to scream in pain from a sharped wooden spike going through her right foot.

"Tch! Fucking _tricky_ little bitch!" Zaku snarled as he rushed forward, preparing his Zankuuha again. Flicking another kunai to her side, Sakura cut another wire, causing two more massive logs to come in from either side of the attacking ninja. Eyes going wide, Zaku threw his hands out to the sides again to either destroy or at least stop the logs with his attack, he unintentionally left himself wide open. Capitalizing on it, Sakura pumped chakra into her legs to swiftly close the gap, hunkered down slightly with her right fist cocked back. As his strange attacks blasted at the logs, they locked eyes for a split second. Her gaze was cold and calculating, his wide-eyed and panicked.

"SHANARO!" The pinkette roared before her fist made contact with the dark haired Oto genin's chest, the power packed into her punch being enough to solidly crack his sternum and a couple ribs as he was launched backwards, the logs still closing in on them. Jumping up at the last second to avoid them, Sakura watched as Dosu did the same, still charging her. This time, she was the one caught off guard as he lunged for her, unable to properly defend herself at the moment.

"Konoha Senpu!" Came the yell of a third party before a familiar blur of green intercepted the strange Oto genin, launching him back with a punishing spin kick to his midsection. Landing in front of Sakura atop the logs after they collided together, Lee glanced back at her while in his taijutsu stance, flashing her a grin. "I'm glad to see that you're unharmed, Sakura-san. Looks like I made it just in time."

"Shut up and focus, Lee." Sakura growled out, her uncharacteristically cold tone catching him off guard. "The fight isn't over yet."

"Who the hell are you?" Dosu snarled as he stood back up, Zaku shakily standing as well as he held his pain-stricken chest with one hand, a thoroughly pissed off look on his face. Further behind them, Kin had finally dragged herself out of the pit, but she was no longer in any real fighting condition due to her rather seriously injured foot and wounded leg.

"The beautiful green beast of Konoha, Rock Lee!" The spandex-clad taijutsu specialist introduced with a stoic expression as he looked back towards the bandaged one-eyed teen. After a moment, Lee's gaze hardened just a touch more as he knew the pair were still very capable of fighting. "I'll take over from here, Sakura-san."

"Don't even start with the chivalry bullshit." Sakura growled at him coldly. She had used up all of her trap-making resources on the ones she had showcased so far and had none left to rely on, leaving her with no other choice than to fight now. She wasn't the weak little girl she used to be. "I've got questions and they've got answers for me."

"Tch...Troublesome bunch of cockroaches, aren't you?" Dosu snarled as he started pulling his right sleeve back again, his lone eye narrowed angrily.

xXx

As the chaos of the fight died off and everyone started running damage control, Naruto let out a quiet animalistic growl as he started waking up, grimacing as he slowly opened his eyes, only for them to snap open and for him to bolt upright. Unintentionally scaring the hell out of Shikamaru and Chouji, who had been debating on how to wake him up just moments prior.

"What...What happened?" Naruto wrasped, his throat a little dry as he held his pounding head. Looking around at the sheer destruction of the area, though, Naruto was absolutely shocked; he'd slept through all of _that_? Without warning, he was suddenly tackled back to the ground by Sakura. One of the side effects to her Shinri Kuro pseudo-technique was being excessively emotional after canceling it out in contrast to her relatively emotionless state while using it...

"Oh, thank goodness! You're okay!" She cried out happily, hugging the fox-teen. Growling slightly from the sudden and abrasive embrace, Naruto used his one free hand to try pushing her off, the other pinned to his side because of her, but she refused to let go. "I was worried that you wouldn't wake up!"

"Get. Off!" He snarled, but not out of hate. He just didn't like people touching him without his permission. Finally letting him go, Sakura looked like she had remembered something before darting off to the haven of roots where her teammates had been resting earlier; Naruto had been moved during the fight to avoid being harmed by one of Zaku's attacks, something the fox-teen was oblivious to. Looking at the two members of Team 10, he nodded his head in her direction. "The hell is up with her and what the fuck happened? You guys are a mess and this place looks like a warzone."

"That's...kind of a long story." Shikamaru responded a little hesitantly, rubbing the back of his head. As Sakura started heading back towards him, Naruto idly noticed how her pony-tail was gone, leaving most of her hair no longer than about chin-length, something he quirked an eye brow at. He wasn't able to voice his confusion about it, however, as a small half-empty bottle of water was all but shoved into his hands.

"Here. I'm sorry. I'd been so busy taking care of Sasuke last night that I forgot to take care of you, too." Sakura explained, apologizing as she bowed to him. Eyeing her strangely, Naruto mumble a quiet 'thanks' under his breath before taking a drink of water. Just what in the world did he miss while he was unconscious?"

xXx

"You guys had quite an eventful morning, huh?" Naruto mumbled offhandedly, but despite how casual the remark sounded, Sasuke and Sakura could tell he was thinking about something from the serious look on his face. After everyone else had left, his teammates had filled him in on what had happened while he had been unconscious, though Sakura had done most of the story telling since she had been awake the whole time. "And you said those Oto nutjobs left us their Earth Scroll before you guys chased them off?"

"Mhm." Sakura responded before frowning slightly. "Except...we don't have our Heaven scroll anymore."

"...That'll be a bit of a problem..." Naruto muttered quietly, staring off into the distance in thought as he scratched under his chin slightly. Closing his eyes with a slightly huffy sigh, Naruto smoothed out the fur on his neck before tugging his scarf up over his nose and standing up. "Guess that leaves me no choice; you guys stay put. I'm going hunting."

"What? Are you crazy?! You just-" Sakura was cut off by Naruto's blank, apathetic stare.

"As of right now, I'm the only one that's in top condition, for the most part. You're at your limit, Sakura, and despite the strange power boost Sasuke had earlier, his still in rough condition." Naruto explained, his tone leaving no room for arguement. "Besides, you need to sleep soon. Sasuke can watch over you for a little bit while I'm out. Whether I'm successful or not, I'll be back in three hours. No sooner, no later. Got it?"

"Naruto...Don't take any unnecessary risks." Sasuke cautioned with his hands clasped contemplatively in front of his face, his eyes just a little colder than they usually were, but it wasn't anything directly relating towards Naruto. "We still don't know what Orochimaru did to you yesterday."

"...What are you? My mother now?" Naruto grumbled irritably, only to get Sasuke's cold stare on him. Sighing heavily, he turned to leave, waving over his shoulder dismissively. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say, _mom_."

Without another word, he lept up to the nearest low-hanging branch before heading deeper into the woods, tugging his scarf back down in search of a scent trail while his ears perked up, listening for any sign of another genin team in the area. Despite his bravado, Naruto knew something wasn't right. He felt just a little bit weaker than normal and his chakra control seemed off, like he'd suddenly lost all of his progress with it. He felt like he did back when they'd first graduated from the Academy. Even his usual speed was suffering from whatever it was the snake bastard had done to him yesterday.

 _'Just gonna have to play it smart from here on out until I can get this figured out.'_ He mused with a slight grimace. _'Back to square one, it is, then.'_

That was when he caught wind of a somewhat familiar scent. One that belonged to someone he'd fought recently. Smirking slightly, Naruto paused for a moment to get the direction the scent went in before following after it. It didn't take him too long to track them down, maybe an hour at most. Staying high above them where they couldn't notice him, Naruto stare down at the three Ame genin, his eyes immediately locking on to the one with both eyes, his two teammates having only their left eye visible for one and the other having both eyes covered. He owed 'Two Eyes' for his namecalling yesterday. However, he patiently waited to see if he could get a glimpse of their scroll.

Luckily, he didn't have to wait long, watching as it was passed to another team member; a Heaven scroll, just what he needed. He waited until one of them, No Eyes, stepped away to take a leak before making his move, changing locations swiftly and silently. Reaching them just as they finished, out of sight of the others, Naruto rushed in quickly before trapping them in a tight headlock, cutting off his airflow and stopping him from trying to call out to his friends. Once he was knocked out, he used a bit of wire to tire them up before dragging them into the bushes. He then waited patiently as they started getting nervous when their teammate didn't come back; good. The more nervous they were, the better it was for him.

Picking up a small pebble, he tossed it into the forest just beyond their resting spot, the two getting jumpy as they readied kunai for a fight. He didn't care what any of them said to one another; none of it was important. He was too busy hunting them. Once again changing location while creating a Kage Bunshin to take up another spot, Naruto waited until the two had put a little bit more distance between each other before signaling his clone, who threw down a handful of smoke bombs around them. Sprinting in, Naruto tracked them via sound before sneaking up on the nearest one, knocking him out almost immediately by kicking him in the head from behind. By the time his body hit the ground, Naruto had already darted off, circling the smoke cloud from the dense brush around them while the last one, Two Eyes, started getting nervous after hearing something fall and getting no response from his second teammate.

"Unlucky...Very, very unlucky..." He whispered to himself as the smoke cleared, revealing his knocked out teammate, Mubi, lying on the ground a few meters away from him. That was when a senbon suddenly stabbed into the back of his leg, making him cry out in pain. Yanking it out, he Oboro looked at it to see a purplish substance coating the metal shard; poison of some kind. "Super unlucky."

"That you are." Naruto spoke up as he stepped out of hiding, shocking Two Eyes with his appearance. "Remember me? The 'fox freak'? I figured I'd pay you guys a little visit, seeing as I'm in need of your scroll at the moment."

"You dumb bastard. You had a better chance picking me off from the shadows like the others." Oboro growled out a little haughtily before trying to perform handseals, but...his hands were numb, his fingers fumbling around as he struggled to move them. "A...paralytic poison?"

"Quite right. I've got a personal rule about killing and I don't feel like breaking it just because someone called me names." Naruto answered casually as he watched Oboro slowly drop to his knees, his eyes wide with fear even as he fell to the ground on his side. Giving the poison a few more seconds to take effect, Naruto signaled for his clone to join him, his doppelganger landing near Two Eyes before rummaging through his pockets for the scroll. Finding it and tossing it to Naruto, the clone dispelled itself while Naruto caught the item. Making sure his scarf was still pulled up over his nose, Naruto eye smiled at the Ame genin before waving to him, darting back into the canopy without another word.

From there, he went straight back to his team with the scroll stashed in his equipment pouch. They had what they needed now. That meant they could head straight for the tower once Sakura finished resting. They were one step closer to finishing the second test, even after all of the hardships they'd been forced to deal with. It didn't take him too long to get back to his teammates, finding Sakura already asleep with Sasuke sitting a few feet away from her with his back to one of the tree roots. As he approached, Sasuke looked up at him before catching the Heaven scroll tossed to him.

"You actually pulled it off. Good." The Uchiha mumbled as Naruto walked over, leaning back against a separate exposed root that stood taller than himself. Now that most of their problems were solved, Sasuke sighed quietly, finally able to relax a little bit. Glancing back over at his vulpine teammate and rival, he eyed Naruto's twin tails; none of them had talked about them yet. Sakura might be asleep and he'd probably have to relay any information about it to her later, but he was curious...and suspicious. "Hey, Naruto...Back when you tried to save us from Orochimaru, you...grew a second tail just before he knocked you out. Why?"

"Second...tail? Wha-" Naruto questioned before shoving off the root and looking behind himself; just as Sasuke aid, he now had _two_ tails. Almost immediately, he lost his cool, gripping the twin appendages as he glared at the heatedly. "What?! Son of a bitch! God damn it! Fucking shit! Just what I needed! _Another_ reason for people to hate me in this fucking village!"

 _'Judging by his reaction, I don't think he knows either...'_ Sasuke mused flatly, continuing to watch Naruto with a blank expression as the fox-teen raged about the new addition...

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Shinri Kuro- Psycho Black

A/N: Just a quick heads up for everyone; I haven't had anyone ask about it, but I just wanted everyone to know that if I skip over certain portions during a scene like with the Oto-nin fight after Lee showed up, it's because the turnout is relatively the same as in the manga/anime...That and I'm honestly too lazy to type all of that shit out. I'm sorry if it's any sort of inconvience for you guys.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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A Tale of Tails

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Chapter Eight

"Hah...Just my luck." Naruto sighed out as he took a moment to tighten the straps to his bracers and greaves before making sure his kunai harness was secured still. Not long after reaching the tower, they'd been given a couple days to rest and recover until the end of the second test, but because there were still too many people that had passed, they were forced to partake in a preliminary test to further thin the crowd. While he'd struggled a little bit due to the weird mark Orochimaru had put on him, Sasuke had still won his match, but had been taken away by Kakashi shortly after; most likely to do something about the weird mark on his neck. He'd been rather impressed with Sakura's match, too, but Ino had gotten lucky, causing them to knock each other out and remove them both from the Exams.

He didn't really care enough about the others to pay much attention to their matches apart from observing their fighting styles just in case he had to fight them later on...

On the electric scoreboard mounted to the far wall, two names were displayed on the screen; Uzumaki Naruto vs. Inuzuka Kiba. Further down the balcony they all stood on, Naruto could hear Kiba's cocky boasting before feral teen hopped down with his canine companion, Akamaru. Huffing slightly, Naruto hopped up slightly to stand on the rail before dropping to the arena floor down below, walking over to his starting position with his thumbs hooked on the holsters to his trench knives.

"Ready to get put down, _fox_?" Kiba sneered, putting a hand on Akamaru's head, large breed hip-high canine barking in agreement with his partner. "Me and Akamaru are going to rip you apart. You might as well save yourself the pain and forfeit now."

"Feh..." Naruto scoffed slightly as he adjusted his scarlet scarf-mask before leveling his icy blue eyes on the Inuzuka with a cold stare. He was going to make Kiba pay for the 'fox' remark. "You can try, Kiba, but you won't succeed."

"Seventh match, Uzumaki Naruto versus Inuzuka Kiba!" The sickly jounin proctor for the prelimiaries proclaimed while raising a hand into the air, only to chop it down after a couple seconds. "Begin!"

"Shikakyu!" Kiba snarled as he crouched down with a handseal, causing whisps of chakra to rise off of him like steam as his nails became claws and he took on a wilder look. The next instant, he blurred towards Naruto at high speeds, intending to take him out in a single blow. Eyes narrowing, Naruto was far too used to faster opponents like Haku to be caught off guard by the bullrush, simply side-stepping the attack. Eyes going wide, Kiba couldn't stop fast enough to change direction or try to hit him again. Instead, Naruto raised one leg as he passed by and kicked him in the back hard enough to smash Kiba's face into the ground before he bounced up a little bit. Recoiling from the kick, Naruto spun on his heel before kicking Kiba in the ribs hard enough to launch him into the side wall beneath the observer's balcony, cracking the wall slightly from the impact.

 _'Good, my strength hasn't suffered too much from the snake-fuck's seal thing.'_ Naruto mused while flexing one of his hands, his eyes locked onto Kiba as the teen started getting back up, but the slight smirk on his face showed he wasn't done yet. Ear twitching and swiveling around, Naruto waited until the last second before crouching down and rolling backwards, causing Akamaru to fly over his head and miss him. Springing forward immediately after, Naruto drove his elbow into the large canine before the white-furre dog could touch the ground, sending him flying directly into Kiba, smashing the Inuzuka back into the wall.

"There can be ten of you and you still won't beat me, Kiba." Naruto coldly explained as he stood up straight, taking his hands away from his trench knives; as hostile as Kiba was, he didn't want to seriously harm the guy. He was pretty sure that if it weren't for his physiology, they could have been pretty good friends. Instead, Kiba was like so many other villagers. Having lost his father to the Kyuubi attack, Kiba directed his pain and anger at Naruto because of his appearance and would probably hate him even more if he knew about the Kyuubi being sealed inside of him. "You're hatred of me blinds you, it makes you sloppy. Your arrogance only makes it all that much worse."

"Shut up! You don't know a damn thing!" Kiba snarled, holding a whining Akamaru in his arms as he stayed where he was on the ground; that blow had cracked a couple of Akamaru's ribs, taking the dog out of the fight. Moving out from under his companion and letting him rest where he was, Kiba ran a hand over his head and along his back. "Don't worry, buddy. I'll make him pay for hurting you..."

Naruto simply sighed, hearing the feral teen's vow. He didn't like harming animals, but if he hadn't taken Akamaru out of the fight like that, he might have been forced to cause greater harm to him. Walking back out towards the middle of the arena, Kiba kept his eyes on Naruto with a snarl on his face, only to suddenly pop a small pill into his mouth; a soldier pill, from the look and smell of the thing. Naruto narrowed his eyes as Kiba's chakra spiked higher before rushing the fox-boy. Half way to him, Kiba tossed a smoke bomb at Naruto's feet, blinding him with the grey smog.

"TSUUGA!" The Inuzuka roared as he threw himself into a spin, becoming a drill of claws that slammed into Naruto's chest, sending him flying back before tumbling across the ground. Grinning viciously, Kiba flexed his claws, waiting. "Like I said...You're going to pay for hurting Akamaru."

"...Is that the best you could do?" Naruto suddenly asked, sounding surprisingly calm as he stood up. His mesh shirt was shredded and the straps to his kunai holster were mangled, blood soaking his fur from the gashes carved into his flesh by Kiba's claws. Even still, Naruto didn't show any signs of feeling pain as he locked eyes with Kiba. Reaching up and simply ripping off the harness, Naruto let it fall to the ground beside him; he rarely used it anymore, anyways. He actually did feel the pain, but after having so many things thrown at him and the battles he'd fought since becoming a genin, he wasn't effected by it. Not only that, but he simply blocked it out, forcing himself not to feel it. "You're going to have to do better than that, Kiba."

"Who's being arrogant now?" Kiba snarled before rushing Naruto again, throwing himself into another spin. "TSUUGA!"

"Not good enough..." Naruto mumbled as he narrowed his eyes before pouring his chakra into his hands and arms. Just as Kiba came within a couple feet of him, his hands shot forward and grabbed Kiba by the wrists, stopping his spin instantly, but the force of the impact caused him to slide back a couple feet. Eyes wide, Kiba was shocked that he'd been stopped so effectively, having thought something like that was impossible. Before he could react, though, Naruto yanked his arms out to the sides while pulling Kiba closer, driving his knee into the Inuzuka's stomach. Stunned by the blow, Kiba did his best not to puke, only for Naruto's elbow to slam into his spine between his shoulder blades, a starburst of light to flash across his vision from the pain.

Shoving him back up into a standing position with his leg, Naruto hopped up slightly to switch legs before his armored foreleg collided with Kiba's flank, causing a strangled cry of pain to wheeze out from the Inuzuka as his lungs were forcefully emptied before he could breath. Thrown to the side by the kick, Kiba hit the ground, coughing and gagging, gasping for air as he struggled to refill his lungs with precious oxygen. Instead of pressing the advantage, Naruto simply stood there, waiting for Kiba to recover and stand back up.

"You...bastard..." Kiba coughed out between breaths, glaring up at Naruto from his spot, hunched over and breathing heavily. "How are you this strong?!"

"Because I have a reason to keep going, no matter what." Naruto answered softly, but with conviction as his mind wandered to Haku for a moment. "That's what I meant when I said that you won't beat me. I wasn't talking about physical strength. I was talking about _true_ strength, the kind of strength you gain when you have something precious to protect."

"Oh, yeah?! And just what are you protecting right now?!" Kiba demanded while rushing Naruto again, a clawed fist drawn back to swing. Eyes closing for a moment, Naruto ducked slightly and leaned to the side a little bit while cocking back his own fist. Avoiding Kiba's swing, Naruto slipped past the Inuzuka's guard before catching his throat in the crook of his elbow, stopping the boy dead in his tracks with the lariat. Immediately pulling him into a headlock with Kiba's back held to his bloody chest, Naruto didn't waste time, kicking the back of Kiba's knee to drop him down, choking him out as he clawed at his armored forearms, trying desperately to get free.

"Right now? My honor." Naruto answered softly moments before Kiba lost consciousness. Letting up on the pressure, Naruto gently laid him down on the ground and stepped back while the proctor, Gekkou Hayate, came over to check the Inuzuka.

"Winner by knockout; Uzumaki Naruto!" The sickly looking man declared while lifting the arm closest to Naruto, signaling the end of the fight. Sighing quietly as he started walking toward the stairs while a couple medics came out to tend to Kiba, Naruto reached into the equipment pouch along his lower back, retrieving a small jar of ointment; a little gift Haku had given him the morning of the Chuunin Exams. Smiling fondly, he opened the lid as he started walking back to where his team was, lightly dabbing the healing medical cream along the claw wounds on his chest, tiny whisps of steam rising from them as the ointment reacted with his healing factor, healing him most of the way by the time he reached them.

"Did you really have to choke him out like that, Naruto?" Sakura asked worriedly, both for him and for Kiba. Naruto didn't answer as he leaned back against the wall, tugging his scarf back over his nose with his eyes closed, his hands shoved into his pockets. Even as the next pair of contestants went down to the arena floor, he stayed where he was, his eyes still closed, but half-way listened as the two Hyuuga members battled. It didn't take long before he heard the distinct sound of someone coughing up blood, prompting him to open his eyes before stepping forward, leaning on the guard rail slightly as he watched.

Eyes narrowing slightly, he watched as the girl, despite her unseen injury, tried to keep fighting. For that, she gained a lot of respect from him. He remembered how nice she'd always been back in the Academy; even to him. Hinata had always been a gentle soul. As much potential as she had, she was too kind to hurt anyone. Thus, she was considered weak by many. He could tell just how severely outmatched she was at the moment, her fellow Hyuuga being far stronger than her. And far more brutal. Despite her efforts, she was being beaten, knocked back to the floor with blood dripping from her mouth.

 _'She keeps...getting back up.'_ He mused to himself, ignoring the others around him as his ears pinned themselves back; it was an all too familiar sight for him. For years, he remembered being beaten down not too differently than she was, only to keep getting back up, regardless of how badly injured he was. He couldn't fight back, so he did the next best thing and didn't give in; if they were going to kill him, he wouldn't stop them, but he was going to die on his feet. Not on his knees. That was when, after being knocked to the floor again, Naruto noticed that something had been changing about the girl throughout the match as she struggled to stand back up, looking like she was on death's doorstep. Gripping the rail a little tighter, Naruto saw what had changed and recognized it. It was her eyes. They were filled with the determination to never give up, to keep going, no matter what. _'She can't win this fight...but she's found her true strength because of it.'_

"Neji! The match is over!" Hayate called out as Neji rushed to attack Hinata again, only for the gathered Konoha jounin sensei and the proctor himself to swarm the boy, stopping him just a few feet before he could get to Hinata. Scowling from his spot, Naruto watched as a few medic-nin came rushing out to stablize the girl as she coughed up more blood and fell to the ground. Neji. If it weren't for the fact that he couldn't feel the Kyuubi's chakra anymore, Naruto had no doubt in his mind that he'd be dealing with chakra spikes out of anger, the Hyuuga boy's attitude being severely grating on his nerves and trying on his patience. He now had a target to reach in the Exams now...

It wasn't to win. It wasn't to get promoted. It was to put Neji in his place. The hateful little bastard had gone too far, nearly killing his own family member because of that hatred. In the end, though, it all came down to whether or not they would fight in the finals. Standing beside him, Sakura looked at the fox-teen in mild confusion and growing concern when she heard him growling quietly, his icy blue eyes glaring directly at Neji, who happened to notice and stared right back at Naruto. Unreactive to Neji's sneering expression, Naruto kept his eyes on the boy as he walked away as if nothing had happened, returning to the observer's balcony.

He was going to enjoy breaking him...

xXx

"I thought you didn't like going to the hot springs?" Haku teased, getting a half-hearted growl of annoyance from Naruto as they walked down the path to the place in question, the ice-wielder having taken up her usual place under his arm and leaning into him. Haku only giggled at his growl, thoroughly entertained with tormenting him.

"I do and I'm not here for that. I'm looking for someone..." Naruto grumbled as they walked around the hot springs area, his eyes glancing around for the person the Sandaime had told him about. After leaving the Forest of Death, he had immediately gone to the Hokage to talk about what Orochimaru had done to him. Despite everything he knew, the Sandaime had been unable to help him with the issue, but he knew someone who could. Good thing he knew them as well...

"Oh? Who?" Haku inquired curiously before Naruto's ear twitched at a sound, his eyes glancing over to the side.

"The biggest pervert to exist." Naruto sighed out before pulling away from her and walking over to where he'd heard the noise. It had been the perverted giggling of the man he was looking for. Perching himself on a wooden guard rail behind the man that was peeking through a hole in a fence, Naruto simply waited, knowing the man had noticed his presence. After a few seconds, Jiraiya glanced over his shoulder to shoo off his watcher before his eyes widened slightly. Crouched on the wooden post was someone he knew quite a lot about; Uzumaki Naruto. "What are you doing here, Naruto? I thought you hated the hot springs because they make you smell like wet dog?"

"...Nice to see you, too..." Naruto mumbled irritably under his breath, half heartedly glaring at the man as he adjusted his scarf-mask. Sighing, he stepped off the rail, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Look, I don't exactly have time to waste right now, so I'll get straight to the point. You're old teammate put a seal of somekind on me called Gogyou Fuuin. It's messing with my chakra and I need you to get rid of it. Can you help or not?"

"Naruto-kun, who is this?" Haku asked as she walked over, glancing between them. Secretly, Naruto was rather glad that his girlfriend didn't have a large rack or else the old lech would be oogling her shamelessly.

"Oh? Finally got yourself a girl, eh, brat?" Jiraiya remarked, grinning at the fox-teen, who simply gave him a flat stare. "Young lady, I am-"

"This perverted old man is Jiraiya, Konoha's Toad Sage and one of the Sannin." Naruto introduced, cutting Jiraiya off before he could do his stupid introduction dance thing. He blatantly ignored Jiraiya's indignant pout before sighing, palming his face as well. "He's also my godfather, regretably..."

"HEY!" Jiraiya barked out with a glare. "Don't go saying that as if you're ashamed to know me, brat! I am a god damn legend in this world! The ladies love-"

"-to kick you in the nuts and beat the shit out of you for spying on them." Naruto interrupted apathetically, something that made Jiraiya pout childishly; he couldn't argue the fact. Looking between the two blankly, Haku couldn't help giggling at how they interacted after a few seconds.

"Hello, Jiraiya-san. I'm Haku." The ice-user introduced with a respectful bow as she stepped beside Naruto. Seeing the look on Jiraiya's face, Naruto sighed exasperatedly before lifting a foot and lightly kicking the man in the leg to catch his attention.

"Seal. Fix it." Naruto growled out while pointing at his stomach, the seal holding the Kyuubi being hidden beneath his dense fur. Glaring at Naruto again, Jiraiya tucked a hand behind him to hide the blue flames that sparked to life on his finger tips.

"Fine, brat. Ruining my god damn fun all the time..." Jiraiya grumbled before suddenly slamming his hand into Naruto's stomach just as hard as Orochimaru had done just days prior. "Gogyou Kaiin!"

"Naruto-kun!" Haku exclaimed as she knelt beside her boyfriend, helping him back up. The next moment, Naruto bolted forward, driving his head into Jiraiya's stomach hard enough to make the man stumble back before falling on his ass, holding his gut in pain.

"A little warning would have been nice, asshole!" Naruto snarled, glaring at Jiraiya heatedly. Haku, not really sure how to react, just stepped back and let to two of them work it out themselves. "That shit fucking hurts, you know?!"

"It's called payback, furball!" The man shot back just as angrily, hopping back to his feet. Hearing what he'd been called, Naruto waited until their foreheads were touching before suddenly kicking Jiraiya between the legs, making the man tense up before slowly falling over, a pathetic whine of pain coming from him. The fox-teen simply snorted victoriously, once more adjusting his scarf to make sure it was still situated over his nose.

" _That_ was for calling me a furball. Stupid pervert..." Naruto growled before starting to walk away, glaring straight ahead of him with his hands stuffed in his pockets. Bowing to Jiraiya once more, Haku ran to catch up to him, idly wondering how the two of them ever managed to not kill each other before now. Sensing Jiraiya coming up behind them rather hastily, Naruto didn't hesitate to grab Haku and Shunshin away, leaving the raging Toad Sage behind, his yelling attracting the attention of the women he'd just been peeking on and bringing _their_ wrath down on his head.

xXx

"So, he's your godfather?" Haku asked curiously from her spot on the couch, lying down between Naruto's legs with her head leaned back against his stomach. After ditching Jiraiya, they'd gone back home; Naruto had wanted to take the next two days to relax a little bit before getting back to training. He had one month to train for the Chuunin Exam finals and as eager as he was for his match against Neji, Naruto still wanted to unwind and destress after the hectic week he'd had so far.

"Yeah...He's always busy traveling, so he couldn't exactly take care of me when I was younger." Naruto mumbled in reply without looking from the pages of the book on basic fuuinjutsu theory in his hand; he was looking into the art of sealing to at least read up on it. He knew mostly just what had been taught in the Academy when it came to seals, but not all that much else. "We've always been kind of...estranged, in a way."

"...You don't like him, do you?" Haku asked, still looking at him. Sighing quietly, Naruto closed the book and set it on the coffee table before leaning his head back, his eyes closed.

"Not really, no. In a way, you could say I resent him for not being there for me back then. If he'd been here, _this_ -" Naruto explained, gesturing towards his whole body. "-wouldn't have happened. At the same time, though, I don't. He's always traveling because he's busy keeping tabs on the other villages for the Hokage and...other things."

"Hm? What kind of other things?" Haku asked, but she didn't get a response. Instead of prying, Haku sat up before changing positions so that she was stradling him. Getting a little too hot since Naruto's air conditioner was still struggling to cool down the apartment, she shed the robe-like top she had on and dropped it next to the couch, leaving her upper body clothed in only her mesh-sleeved top. Leaning down just as Naruto glanced at her, Haku immediately kissed him, pressing her body flush against his. She had him for the next fourty-eight hours and she was going to put it to good use. Feeling one of his hands instantly squeeze her butt, Haku pressed closer with a soft moan, running her fingers through the fur on his neck as she slipped her tongue into his mouth.

God, she was sorely tempted to give him his birthday present early...

xXx

"So, any theories about the second tail?" Hiruzen inquired as he puffed on his pipe, Jiraiya sitting across from him. The Toad Sage rubbed his chin thoughtfully for a moment before shaking his head slightly.

"I couldn't really tell, but I think it might have something to do with the Cursed Seal Orochimaru put on him." Jiraiya answered, having been one of the people to investigate the lab after it had been raided and Naruto found. Unfortunately, there had been only a couple pages of lab notes that mentioned anything about it and that it had been put on Naruto, causing him to change into the fox-boy he was now. "It's possible that it could be...evolving, I guess? Probably from reacting to the Kyuubi's chakra or something. I don't know exactly what would have caused it, but if its transformative capabilties are still working in the slightest bit, it seems quite possible. If enough of the Kyuubi's chakra gets used, it could trigger the sudden growth of another tail...or it could be something else entirely that we haven't considered yet. I don't know."

"Hm...I can't help thinking that your theory might actually be right, though, Jiraiya." Hiruzen returned, taking another drag from his pipe and exhaling after holding the smoke in for a couple seconds. "When he came to me about the Gogyou Fuuin, I inspected the seal and it was still fully functional; nothing was wrong with it apart from what Orochimaru had done. Even if the Kyuubi were somehow involved, I don't believe it's doing it on purpose. He did say that he had been drawing on the Kyuubi's chakra at the time, so your theory would fit if the Curse Seal, even in its defunct state, was trying to feed off of the Kyuubi's chakra and ended up forming a second tail."

"Yeah..." Jiraiya sighed out before taking a drink of his sake, having brought a bottle with him to enjoy while talking with his old sensei. "So, how's he been doing since I last visited? He still has hard feelings for me, I know that much."

"Don't take it too personally, Jiraiya. He's still hurting, even after eleven years, and I don't think that pain is going to be going away for years to come." Hiruzen tried reassuring, but he didn't even fuly believe his own words. "But he's been doing surprisingly well these past few months. His girlfriend has done wonders on his personality and over all mood. Kakashi says his attitude has been surprisingly well-mannered recently, too. Other than that, I don't know what to say, really. He doesn't come by to talk all that much any more..."

"Quick question; Naruto's girl, Haku. Is she a ninja of Konoha? I didn't see a hitai-ate anywhere on her." Jiraiya inquired a little suspiciously, thinking about something. Hiruzen shook his head negatively, causing the gears to start turning in Jiraiya's head. "And you said she came to the village with them when they were coming back from Wave Country? I don't mean to start throwing up red flags or causing him any kind of trouble, but it's just a little too strange, if you ask me. She doesn't seem to be hiding anything, but I might look into her anyways. Naruto can hate me, if he wants, but I'm just looking out for him, you know?"

"Honestly, Jiraiya, while I can't disagree that the circumstances around her are indeed worthy of suspicioun, I'll have to speak against that." Jiraiya was honestly a little surprised by Hiruzen's arguement. "If you started digging up old skeletons best left alone and Naruto catches wind of it, he'll never forgive you. He still hasn't let go of how you just abandoned him when he enrolled into the Academy."

"Sensei, I had to go! I didn't want to, but I _had_ to!" Jiraiya countered defensively. "I couldn't risk not going! my informant had information on the Akatsuki and I needed to make sure I got a hold of it before it got intercepted or my informant caught. I'm sorry, but the Akatsuki take priority. I'm not going to let them hurt that boy. I'd rather die than let them get their hands on him."

"I don't think he sees it that way, Jiraiya..." Hiruzen sighed softly before drinking his own sake...

xXx

"Hehehe! Quit, that tickles!" Haku laughed as she squirmed in his arms as they cuddled on the couch, only to keep laughing as Naruto used his tails to keep tickling her side. Laughing louder, Haku squirmed a little bit more before sitting up and glaring down at him heatedly, her cheeks flushed and her frown barely holding. Her resolve broke, however, when she felt the tip of one of his tails brush against her side again, making her giggle again. Pouting, she grabbed a throw pillow before smacking him with it. "You are such an ass!"

"But I'm _your_ ass..." He retorted with a grin, only to reach around her and cup her butt cheek, squeezing roughly. Moaning as she leaned forward with her hands braced on either side of his head, Haku gently bit down on her bottom lip, pushing her hips back against his hand while trying to press closer to his. "And I must say, you have a _very_ nice ass."

"J-Jerk..." She mumbled before pressing her body flush against his and burying her face against his neck, pouting slightly as she moaned quietly again. Feeling his other hand on her hip slide up under her shirt, Haku arched her back slightly while his hand went to her chest, gently groping her left breast. Biting her lip a little harder, Haku was using every ounce of will power she had to keep herself from trying to take him right then and there; it was supposed to be his birthday present, damn it, and he was unintentionally making it extremely difficult for her to resist giving it to him early. "K-Kitsune-kun..."

A moment later, she smashed her lips against his, forcing her tongue into his mouth hungrily as she started grinding against him. She absolutely refused to give in to her desires just yet, but she was at least going to make sure they both _thoroughly_ enjoyed their evening. Returning the tongue-filled kiss that as enthusiastically, Naruto idly wandered why she seemed so much more excited than usual. He'd barely done anything this time and she was going crazy, if her horny...moans...

"Hm, that certainly got your attention." Haku whispered huskily with a seductive smirk on her face, noticing how Naruto's ear twitched slightly as her hot breath washed over it. Having wedged a hand between them, she had started rubbing it against his crotch, effectively making his brain shut down for a minute as she kept doing it, intentionally trying to repay him for all the torment he was putting her through. She had just a little under a month before his birthday and he was making it so much more difficult than it had to be. Using his nearly brain dead state to her advantage, Haku slipped her tongue back into his mouth, dominating him for all of twenty seconds before his brain kicked back on.

Breaking the kiss with a shuddering gasp, Haku's eyes tried rolling back in her head as she moaned louder than before, shivering slightly. Naruto, having returned the favor, didn't realize exactly how much trouble he was in as Haku leaned forward, burying her face against his chest as her back arched. Body spasming slightly as Naruto continued to tease and rub her crotch, Haku moved her hand away from his to better balance herself, struggling to think straight at the moment from the intense pleasure she was feeling. However, after a few seconds, she was tiring of just getting teased. Quickly undoing her pants with one hand, she grabbed Naruto's hand before slipping it into her underwear. Almost instantly, a deep throaty moan escaped her as his hand went back to work, though with a bit of hesitation from the fox-teen.

"Ah, ah, ah...N-Naru..." Haku moaned out as she lifted her hips slightly with her hands on either side of his head, giving him better access. Before Naruto could say anything, she passionately kissed him again, moaning into his mouth as their tongues danced. If it weren't for his fingers working their magic on her loins at the moment, Haku was sure she would have given in to her lust and tried bedding him in the next couple minutes. Why did her plans always backfire on her? Moaning even more, Haku felt his other hand still massaging her breast, her nipple currently trapped between his fingers as he continued pleasuring her. Her moans started sounding more like whimpering cries as she felt a familiar tension deep within her core, her cheeks burning hot and her chest heaving with her gasping breaths as they broke apart for air. Wrapping her arms around Naruto's head as tight as possible as her body started spasming, her hips bucking against his hand. "N-Naruto! I'm...I'm...AAHH!"

Slowly, Naruto's fingers stopped pumping in and out of her, her labored breathing echoing in his ear as she kept his head pressed tight into her neck and shoulder, her body still spasming ever couple seconds. When he tried to pull his hand free, his fingers drenched, Haku instantly grabbed him by the wrist, stopping him pulling it out. Hearing the quiet growl in his ear, Naruto felt both a little nervous and even more excited when Haku gently nibbled on his ear a little bit. Getting the not-so-subtle hint, Naruto gradually started pumping his fingers again, a euphoric gasp escaping his girlfriend as she simply held him where he was. Latching on to her neck, he started sucking on the supple flesh of her throat, getting another moan from her as he returned to pleasuring her body.

Still struggling to form a single coherent thought, Haku decided she was going to put Naruto to work this time. She'd been having to do it herself a lot of the time in the shower after Naruto would leave to meet with his team in the mornings, but not this time. This time, he had worked her up so much worse than usual and she was going to have him fix it his damn self. Why couldn't it be October tenth already?!

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A/N: So, uh...Ahem...Things are heating up between them, it seems...Anyways, I hope you all enjoy the new chapter...


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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A Tale of Tails

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Chapter Nine

The next morning, Haku smiled lovingly as she laid next to Naruto, watching as he slept peacefully. Still topless with him laying on top of her, his head resting on her stomach, Haku gently ran her fingers through the fur on the top of his head and down along his neck. Ear twitching in his sleep, Naruto nuzzled her stomach before settling back down. They had spent the evening and most of the night simply pleasuring one another on the couch and then later on the bed, but Haku had refused to let him...relieve himself. When he demanded to know why she wouldn't let him, Haku had teasingly said it was a surprise and that he had to wait a little longer. He had not been happy about it, but she'd managed to convince him to contain himself as much as possible.

 _'I can't wait to let him have his way with me.'_ Haku mused with a slight shiver of excitement while nibbling on her bottom lip, having taken her time with Naruto to indulge in the things she had unknowingly denied herself for so long. One of which was both Love and Lust, two things she was starting to discover because of Naruto. She was so indescribably happy that they'd met nearly seven months ago. While the early days of their friendship had been painful and harsh, they had grown stronger from it and endured, unintentionally growing closer from it. By the time they'd reached Konoha back then and officially become a couple, they had already been acting as if they'd been dating for a year or more, excluding any major intimacy. Now, after being together for the past six months, Haku had felt it was time for them to take that next step in their relationship.

Before, she had been rather nervous about them being intimate, but when her emotions had gotten the best of her when she 'gave him her heart' six months ago, those new-born fears disappeared almost as fast as they had formed. She hadn't been afraid of anything happening to their relationship, she hadn't been afraid of Naruto one day falling out of love with her, none of it. She still wasn't. When someone who has nothing receives something precious and important, they'll never let go of it. By the time they became a couple, the only thing that they had that was good in their life was each other. She had no doubt in her mind or in her heart about their future together; with the exception of one of them being killed in a fight, that is, but that was something she refused to think about...

"Mm...Mornin'..." Naruto grumbled quietly as he shifted, wrapping his arms around Haku's waist as he gently kissed her stomach, getting a slight giggle out of her as his well-hidden whiskers tickled her for a second. Leaning his head into her hand as she gently scratched behind one of his ears, Naruto gave a jaw-cracking yawn while stretching a little bit, his eyes refusing to open; like usual.

"Good morning, sleepy head." Haku greeted softly before he moved further up her body, kissing her lovingly. Eyes closing with contentment as he laid back down on top of her, Haku couldn't help smiling coyly with a soft laugh as Naruto's whiskers tickled her nose a little bit, but quickly captured his lips in another kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck to keep him from going anywhere as she slowly broke the kiss after a few seconds. "Did you sleep well?"

"Mm...I'd have slept better if you would have just let me-" Naruto tried complaining, only for Haku to silence him with another kiss, this time slipping her tongue into his mouth. Breaking the kiss with a soft gasp a second later, Haku fisted a hand in the fur on the back of Naruto's head as he firmly pressed his body against hers, her legs instinctively trying to wrap around him to hold him in place, only managing to pin his hips under her knees. Nibbling on her ear lobe like he did every morning, Naruto made sure it was a little more sensual feeling as he quietly growled, gently grinding against her for a moment, making Haku moan heartily. "Keep pushing me and I'll push back, _Usagi-chan_..."

Haku shivered noticably as she heard her newfound petname, another coy smile tugging at her lips as she started nibbling on Naruto's ear in return, playfully growling at him. Fuck it, she was done. She gave up. She didn't know what she was getting into when she thought she'd be able to hold out until his birthday. She didn't know how she was going to hold out for the next five minutes, let alone the next three weeks. That was when her eyes flew open and started rolling back in her head, sucking in a desperate breath as her back arched. Having clamped his jaws over her shoulder at the base of her neck, Naruto bit down, but not enough to break her skin or cause her any unwanted pain. Just enough to further excite her.

Judging from how she was squeezing his head against her shoulder and wrapped her legs around his waist fully, he doubted she wanted him to stop any time soon...

Slowly releasing her shoulder, Naruto gave her a living kiss before leaning down and lightly suckling one of her nipples, making her shudder with a whimpering moan. Feeling especially cruel, Naruto slowly rocked his hips against hers for a moment to really get her worked up into a frenzy before suddenly getting off of her, climbing out of bed with a cheeky grin.

"Wha-No! Get your fuzzy butt back over here and love me, damn it!" Haku protested, trying to snag him by the pants before he got out of reach, but she missed. Sitting up, Haku immediately groaned softly, only to curl up as she flopped back down on the bed on her other side; she was too horny to even chase after him. Whining pathetically, Haku buried her face in a pillow, still shivering with need. "You're so meeeaaan!"

"So says the one that started this war." Naruto laughed as he grabbed a towel and a change of fresh clothes, deciding to take a quick shower to clean up properly after their 'fun' last night. Glaring at the bathroom door with tears in her eyes and burning crimson cheeks, Haku was sorely tempted to just chase after him and do him in the shower, only to hear the door lock click. Whining again, Haku bit down on the pillow trapped in her arms, still glaring at the bathroom door. He was going to pay for that...

xXx

"Finally deciding to stick around for a bit, huh?" Naruto remarked spitefully as he spun a kunai on the tip of his finger, not even bothering to look at Jiraiya. Scattered all around him were dozens of targets set up in the branches, hung up on tree trunks, sticking out of the ground, and everywhere else in between. Jiraiya was honestly a little impressed as he watched the boy train, having tried to stay hidden while he watched at first, but that was before a half dozen throwing knives came within inches of hitting him. He'd seen shinobi that were exceptionally skilled with kunai, but they had been few and far between. At least, those with natural talent with them like Naruto.

Each target had been nailed in the dead center, the blades clustered around the bull's-eye on each target, regardless of its positioning. He would throw one at a target to the lower right before going for one at the upper left before throwing another at one that was behind him. Naruto moved continuously, not once stopping to do anything more than glance at a target before letting his kunai fly. What impressed him was the speed with which he moved, throwing an average of five in a single second. His skill with a kunai was impressive for even some jounin, let alone a genin. Sadly, once he'd been spotted, Naruto had stopped.

"I thought you would have just run off again after yesterday." Naruto growled before snagging his kunai, channeling a bit of Wind chakra into it before throwing it, the blade punching through the target, the tree it was mounted to, and burying itself up to the ring in the tree behind it. Jiraiya winced at the boy's words; last time they'd spoken, he had given Naruto his bracers and greaves as a present for both enrolling into the Academy and as a sort of parting gift. Once Naruto had learned that Jiraiya would be leaving, the boy had taken it exceptionally hard. Hiruzen was right; he really hadn't forgiven him for it. After a few seconds of silence, Naruto growled while glaring at Jiraiya over his shoulder. "What do you want?"

"Look, Naruto...I know I've got a lot of work ahead of me, but I want to at least _try_ making things up to you." Jiraiya sighed when Naruto's eye only narrowed. After everything that had happened to the boy, he honestly couldn't blame him for not being so trusting or forgiving, but still...didn't it account for something that he was trying now? "Let me train you, just until the finals. After that, you don't ever have to speak to me again if you don't want to...All I'm asking for is a second chance."

"...You really don't get it, do you?" Naruto asked rhetorically and coldly as he looked forward again, keeping his back to the man. "Your first chance was wasted when you left me alone for the first seven years of my life. Your second chance was wasted when you ditched me nine years ago..."

"Naruto, I..." Jiraiya cut himself off, scratching the back of his head. He'd been hoping for a less hostile reunion, but it was obvious that it wasn't going to happen. Still, he had thought ahead, figuring he might get such a reaction from Naruto. Setting down a sealing scroll, Jiraiya simply turned on his heel and started walking away, not even bothering to hide just how dejected he was. "Some training tips and techniques. Picked them out myself. Use them, don't use them. It doesn't matter anymore..."

Naruto didn't say anything or move as Jiraiya left, his jaw tensed as he simply stood there. Shaking. He had a lot of issues with his supposed godfather. He'd been a basket case when they pulled him out of that lab. Hell, he was no different than a rabid, feral animal. He had bitten five different ANBU bad enough that they needed numerous stitches, mauled another, and would have done worse if they hadn't knocked him out and kept him tranquilized throughout the entire trip back to Konoha. It took him a long time to recover from it. Even now, he still hadn't fully recovered, but it had been much easier on him since meeting Haku.

He'd met Jiraiya a week after he was brought to Konoha and found out that he was his godfather. For a few months, Naruto was recovering rather quickly with the man's help. He'd even taught Naruto a few things to help him later on in the future whenever he would eventually join the Academy. When that day came, Naruto had been on the verge of returning to at least a shadow of his former happy-go-lucky self...and then Jiraiya dropped the bomb on his head. He relapsed entirely within days of the man leaving. It had been a serious struggle for him, trying to piece his sanity back together. It was the main reason why he resented Jiraiya so much. Even now, after so many years since he had been cursed by Orochimaru, Naruto still suffered from the wounds inflicted upon him, both physical and mental.

Gritting his teeth, Naruto closed his eyes as a couple tears fell from his eyes. Not even caring about his kunai anymore, Naruto blurred with speed, disappearing from the clearing. He needed to go for a run...

Back in the clearing, the scroll Jiraiya had set down on the ground for him was missing, snagged and put away as he took off...

xXx

 _'It's already past midnight...'_ Haku thought worriedly, sitting on the couch with her knees drawn up to her chest and arms wrapped around her legs. _'He still hasn't come back...What's taking him so long?'_

It wasn't like him to stay out so late. Maybe back before they met, from what Sakura told her, but not anymore. For the past six months, he had never been back any later than sundown. She was worried. No...she was scared. After not having him around for so long, Haku could feel her fears coming back, the ones she had been battling after Zabuza's death. What...What if something happened to him? Shaking her head furiously, Haku forced those thoughts out of her head. She couldn't let herself get worked up like that. He was probably just training extra hard...

That's when she heard the door unlock, her eyes immediately jumping to the wooden portal as it opened. Naruto used the back of his hand to wipe away the touch of blood on his lip as he closed the door, shuffling to the bedroom as he just shed his bracers, greaves, and equipment along the way, dropping it all on the floor carelessly. Hesitantly standing up, Haku watched him with extreme worry. He had never done that since she met him. His fur was visibly full of dirt and matted with blood in some spots, his mesh shirt ripped to shreds that barely hung off his body. His kunai harness was still in tatters, hanging up on the wall where he'd left it, but even his scarf...It was almost too ripped and torn to be repaired, the length of scarlet fabric holding itself together by threads as he dropped it on the floor just outside of the room.

A moment later, Haku nearly ran to the bedroom to find Naruto just sitting on the floor in front of the bed, sitting not unlike she had been just minutes ago. Walking over to him and kneeling, Haku hesitantly reached out to him before setting a hand on his head as she sat down. Pulling him into her arms without a fight, Haku simply held him for a few minutes before she felt him start to shake, his arms weakly encircling her as he silently cried into her chest. Closing her eyes, she did the only thing she could think of at the moment.

"Shh...It's okay, baby. I'm right here." Haku whispered comfortingly, running a hand over his head and down his neck. "It'll be okay. I'm right here...I've got you."

xXx

"..." Haku was silent as she stared down at Naruto as he slept, his head resting in her lap. It had taken an hour before he finally stopped crying. After that, she made him get in the tub before bathing the near-catatonic fox-teen herself. Afterwards, she had tended to his injuries, finding dozens of bite marks and ragged cuts and scratches all over his body; he almost looked like he had gotten in a fight with a pack of wolves. His pants were in tatters, the wrappings he usually wore on his lower legs were in a similar condition, armor pieces heavily scuffed and scratched up... _'Just what happened to you, Naruto-kun?'_

She was worried for him. Extremely so. She'd never seen him act so...dead, before. And then his condition when he got home...What was he doing all night? Lip quivering slightly as her worry became too much to contain, Haku slipped his head off her lap before curling up next to him, gently cradling his head against her neck and shoulder as she held him close, a few tears falling from her eyes. She could only hope that he would at least talk to her when he woke up...

xXx

"I take it Naruto wasn't very happy to see you." Kakashi mumbled as he sat next to Jiraiya at the bar, ordering some sake for himself. It was clear that Jiraiya had been there for a good minute, a handful of empy sake bottles set next to him and another sitting in front of him. "Do you want me to talk to him about it?"

"No...He was right, Kakashi." The white haired man mumbled before taking another drink of sake, draining the dish instantly. Sighing heavily, he refilled it after a few seconds. "I was one of the first people to hear about the aftermath of the Kyuubi attack thanks to the Toads...and I didn't come back. I was too upset over Minato's and Kushina's deaths. I ran away, thinking everything would be okay for him...I heard about how horrible his childhood was and I still didn't come back. I didn't come back until the damage was already done...and I still didn't stay very long, seeing too much of his parents in the boy...He was right. I don't deserve another chance..."

"You know as well as I do that he says some pretty harsh things he doesn't really mean when he's upset." Kakashi tried reassuring as he sipped at his drink, but Jiraiya just scoffed before downing another dish of sake. "You've got to look at it from his perspective, Jiraiya. He had been nothing more than a beast when we found him; I've got the scars to prove it. He nearly took one of my fingers off. The only reason he even started getting better was because of you. Yeah, you left and it made things worse, but he's done good on his own recently. He's got Haku looking out for him now and she's done a terrific job with him. Did you know that before she came into the picture, Naruto spent more nights in the woods than he did in his own bed? He rarely ever went home. He's just...facing his issues right now after seeing you again. You two just need to talk things out and work towards getting past this."

"Easier said than done..." Jiraiya mumbled around the dish in his hand before downing its contents. Pouring the last of his sake into the cup, Jiraiya finished it off before standing from the bar stool, wobbling slightly in his drunken stupor. "That boy wants nothing to do with me anymore...and I can't blame him for it."

Kakashi sighed as he stared down at his sake dish, staring at his reflection in the golden liquid...

Outside, Jiraiya stared making his way back to the hotel room he'd rented while he was in Konoha, stumbling slightly every few steps. However, even in his drunken state, he still clearly heard the quiet sound of someone landing behind him, prompting him to turn to find someone he had not expected to see. Standing there, fully geared, was Haku.

"What do you want? Come to yell at me, too?" Jiraiya mumbled thoughtlessly before turning around fully. Haku was quiet for a few moments as she shook her head.

"I wanted to talk to you. About Naruto." Haku answered, getting a sigh from Jiraiya as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "He's a mess right now..."

"...What time is it?" He mumbled to himself as he fumbled around in his pockets before pulling out a watch; nearly four in the morning. Heaving another heavy sigh, he rubbed the back of his neck. "What happened?"

"That's just it. I don't know. He's usually back by sundown every day at the latest, but today, he didn't come back until just after midnight. He was dirty and scratched up as if he got in a fight with an animal or something." Haku explained, staring down at the ground as she started losing her composure a little bit out of concern for her boyfriend. "I had to clean him up myself after he stopped crying and put him in bed. He hasn't spoken a word since he came back. What...What happened, Jiraiya? Why is he like that?"

"Shit. Sounds like he's starting to relapse again..." Jiraiya hissed under his breath before leaning back against a nearby wall, palming his face as he tried thinking of something. His words, however, confused and worried Haku. "Back when we rescued him from one of Orochimaru's labs, he was...feral, to put it lightly. He would claw and bite anyone that got near him, unable to identify friend from foe. I...I helped him come back to us after a little while, but I had to leave the village again because of my work. He...didn't take it well. He relapsed in only a few days and it took a long time for him to calm back down, but it changed him. From what I hear, you've made a lot of progress with him these past few months..."

"Yeah, but...he's never acted like this before." Haku whispered as her eyes watered, but she dried her tears before looking back at Jiraiya. "I don't know what to do..."

"...He still live in that tiny apartment next to the park?" Jiraiya asked, getting a nod from Haku. Closing his eyes, he weighed the pros and cons of his options for a moment before sighing with mild exasperation. "Alright. Leave everything to me. I'll see what I can do...but I can guarantee he won't like any of it."

"What do you mean?" Haku asked, but she didn't get an answer as the man Shunshined away. Nervously chewing on her bottom lip, Haku stood there for a few seconds before jumping back to the rooftops, heading back in the direction of the apartment. When she got there, however, she noticed how something felt off. Immediately going to the bedroom, Haku froze in the doorway...Naruto was gone. Finally noticing the small note tacked to the door, she pulled it off and read it. "...'He'll be okay. I promise. I'll be in touch. Jiraiya.'"

Crushing the note in her hand as she wrapped her arms around herself, Haku leaned against the doorway before slowly sinking down to the floor, drawing her knees up to her chest. It wasn't long before she ended up crying herself to sleep where she was at...

xXx

"God damn it!" Jiraiya snarled as he held his hand, a bloody bite mark covering half of it where Naruto had bit him. He'd taken the boy to a secluded shack deep in the forest atop the Hokage Mountain; the same place he had taken Naruto back when he was still a kid. The entire place was warded off with seals, keeping everyone out and trapping them both inside of the barrier; it kept people from messing with them and it kept Naruto from trying to run away. Currently snarling and growling at him with bared fangs was none other than Naruto, wearing only his pants and tied up in a chair with a chakra suppression seal situated between his shoulder blades; now that the boy had skills on par with a veteran chuunin, Jiraiya couldn't take as many risks with the boy. "Whether you like it or not, boy, I'm not going to let you do this to yourself again! I couldn't care less about how you feel about me, but I'm not going to let you put that girl through hell just because you can't handle your shit anymore!"

Even in his rabid state, Naruto seemed to understand what he said for a moment, his eyes widening slightly as he calmed down for a second. Glaring off to the side, Naruto seemed to stop struggling to get free, but he hadn't stopped growling. Sighing heavily, Jiraiya pulled out a first aid kit to tend to his hand. Even as drunk as he was, the boy had some sharp teeth, the alchohol doing little to numb the pain of the bite. At least he'd stopped fighting him for the moment. Still, he wondered why Naruto hadn't behaved so rabidly when he was with Haku. The moment he'd gotten to the shack, Naruto had woken up and immediately tried to maul him.

"Just so you know, I'm not doing this for me or for you or anything like that." Jiraiya continued as he sat down in a chair across from the feral fox-teen. Sighing, he leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees as he stared at the floor. "I'm doing this for her. She's worried about you, kid. She's scared."

Naruto didn't speak, but the way he started snarling slightly again as he continued to glare off to the side, Jiraiya knew his words were starting to reach him. Seeing a tear form in Naruto's eye as he continued glaring at the side wall, the past-his-prime shinobi smiled sadly. The boy really loved that girl, didn't he?

"You've got one week to pull yourself back together. This isn't the first time you've had to go through this shit, so it shouldn't be too hard for you." Jiraiya mumbled before grabbing one of the few bottles of sake he usually had stashed away in a scroll for 'emergency' use. Taking a drink from it, Jiraiya ran a hand over his head, knowing it was going to be a long week...

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

A/N: Alright, this one turned a little darker than the other chapters, a little shorter as well, but I wanted to shed some light on just how messed up in the head Naruto is from everything done to him. Two years of captivity and isolation combined with the tortures he had to endure could break anyone...and something like that isn't so easily fixed. Also, a little bit of character development between Naruto and Jiraiya, a glimpse of what had happened between them, and a revelation; Kakashi had been one of the ANBU that found Naruto nine- almost ten- years ago. Anyways, I hope everyone enjoys it.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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A Tale of Tails

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Chapter Ten

Two weeks. She'd been alone for two weeks and it had been hell for her. She'd been having nightmares almost every night, leaving her sleep deprived with dark bags starting to form under her eyes. Smiling weakly as Ren hopped up onto the couch where she was laying down, Haku gently pet the feline. She hadn't realized just how heavily she truly relied on Naruto for emotional support. Just being near him was more than enough for her to stay strong, to scare away her nightmares, but the moment he disappeared from her side, she became a wreck. The day after Jiraiya took Naruto, she had sent Sakura a message saying that she wouldn't be able to continue training her for a little while, but didn't specify why. Her depression and exhaustion kept her confined to the apartment for the most part, only going out to do any light shopping she needed to do with the money Naruto kept at home for her to use, but that was about it.

"Ugh! Pull yourself together!" Haku suddenly groaned as she forced herself to sit up, rubbing her face vigorously. Wearing a pair of black shorts and a light grey tank top because of the summer heat, Haku stood up and stretched with a groan before heading to the bedroom, grabbing her hair brush and running it through her raven locks to tidy it up. Pulling it back into a pony-tail afterwards with a black hair tie she kept around her wrist, she decided to at least be a _little_ productive as she gathered up the laundry before hauling the basket to the front door. Moving it outside, Haku made sure to arm the trap and lock the door before heading down to the apartment building's ground floor where the communal laundry room was located.

Once she had everything in the washing machine, she sat down in a nearby chair, being the laundry room's only occupant. She needed something to keep her busy. Sure, she could train Sakura, but there wasn't much left for her to teach the girl. For the most part, she could just give the girl scrolls on everything else she needed to learn about herbology and anatomy. At the same time, though, she didn't want to become a regular ninja of Konoha and go out on missions; not unless she was teamed up with Naruto on them. She had started falling apart at the seams after just the first few days she'd spent away from him. There's no way she'd be able to handle going out on any missions outside of the village for any more than a day or two if Naruto wasn't right next to her...

 _'God, I'm so pathetic right now.'_ Haku thought depressively with a sigh, only for a thought to occur to her. Or rather, she remembered something Naruto had said a while back. Something about becoming a teacher. Thinking it over, she could see the merits in it. She already loved kids, so working as even an assistant teacher at the Academy would be nice. So long as the Hokage would allow her to join the village's ranks, she would be able to freely access the Shinobi Library, giving her a chance to learn more techniques and branch out with what she could do. It would be a decent and steady income, too. She'd always felt a little self-conscious about Naruto having to pay for everything all the time; he didn't really mind it, but it still bugged her a little. She was used to pulling her own weight back when she traveled with Zabuza.

The only reason she had been so against it before was because she was still trying to readjust to living in a stable environment when Naruto started suggesting it. Granted, he had only first started bringing it up a handful of weeks ago, but still...She wasn't even sure the Hokage would let her. Naruto had said he was a nice person and looked up to the man like a grandfather, the one he had told her about in passing back in Wave Country. She was just...a little scared of being rejected. As happy as she was, the past two weeks had snapped her out of the daze she'd been in; she was still in a fragile state...and it was getting to her. Not that it was getting worse, but that she wanted to do something about it.

 _'Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea, after all.'_ Haku mused with a slight smile as she heard the alarm from the washing machine timing out. Getting up and transfering everything over to the dryer, Haku set the timer and started it up after depositing a coin in the slot. Leaning back against the washer she had just been using, Haku blankly stared at the far wall in thought, letting herself daydream a little about the future. Some day, she hoped they could move into an actual house with a little bit of property and, maybe, start a family with her beloved 'Kitsune-kun'. It was still a distant dream, a rather cliche one, at that, but it was still a dream. Smiling tenderly at the thought, Haku shook her head a little bit.

At least she was cheering back up...and all by herself, too. Sitting back down in the chair since she had an hour to go before the laundry was done, Haku glanced at the magazines on the table next to her. They were all civilian ones, but she grabbed one and started flipping through it idly, just looking for something to kill time. Once it had finally finished, Haku unloaded everything back into the laundry basket she'd brought with her before hauling it back up to the apartment, huffing slightly as she reached the door. Disarming and unlocking the door, she went back inside and locked the door behind her before heading to the room to start folding everything and putting it all away. Just as she walked into the bedroom, though...

"Naruto!" She exclaimed, dropping the basket as she rushed forward to wrap her arms around him, burying her face against his chest. Smiling slightly, he slowly wrapped his arms around her in return, lightly kissing the top of her head.

"I'm sorry for upsetting you, Haku." He whispered softly, making her shake her head as best as she could, drying her few tears with his furry chest.

"I-It's okay. I'm just happy you're back." She mumbled, holding on to him for dear life. Feeling him pick her up, Haku blushed slightly while clinging to him, but the journey was short lived as he sat down on the bed with her in his arms. "S-So...are you okay now?"

"Yeah...I'm okay now." He mumbled quietly as he buried his nose in her hair, breathing in her scent as he closed his eyes. Pulling back slightly, he tilted her head up to look at him, having been intending to kiss her, only to notice the bags under her eyes. Frowning slightly, he gently brushed a thumb across her cheek. "You've been having nightmares again, haven't you?"

"Mhm..." She hummed out, looking away slightly, almost ashamed of it. She knew it wasn't something that could be controlled, but she still didn't like making him worry. Feeling him kiss her forehead, Haku let her eyes close before leaning back against him. "It's okay, though...I've been doing some thinking while you were gone."

"Oh?" He intoned curiously, looking down at her. Smiling a little more, she nodded her head against his chest and neck without looking up at him.

"I decided to do what you suggested a while back." She answered before finally looking up at him. "I'm going to try to become a teacher."

"Really now? What happened to being so against it?" Naruto teased lightly, getting an indignant blush and pout from the girl as she buried her face back against his chest. Despite his teasing, Haku was just happy to have her Kitsune-kun back in her arms...

xXx

Later that night, Naruto stared down at Haku as she slumbered, smiling softly as he gently brushed a few hairs out of her face. Slowly slipping out of bed without disturbing her, Naruto pulled the covers over her fully before walking to the kitchen and grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge before sitting on the couch. He had skipped over the details of what had gone on while he was away with Jiraiya, but he had made sure to reassure her that he was okay. He was glad she didn't care about the details, though; one of which was the reason why he was having trouble sleeping even though it was almost one in the morning. Cracking the bottle open and taking a sip, Naruto sighed while running a hand over his head before putting the bottle on the coffee table.

Situating himself in the lotus position on the couch, Naruto sat his hands in his lap while closing his eyes and concentrating. It had taken him a couple days to get the hang of it, but Jiraiya had managed to help him contact the Kyuubi during the second week; it had been necessary since they were wanting to find out the cause for the chakra spikes that had strangely stopped after his second tail formed. After a few minutes, Naruto opened his eyes once more to find himself in a sewer-like structure; the mental representation of the seal containing the Kyuubi no Kitsune. His mindscape, as it were.

It had been a rather frustrating fiasco trying to talk with the fox about the chakra spikes. As it turned out, it was a result of the snake-fuck's malfunctioning seal, but it wasn't anything bad, surprisingly. When it was first placed, Orochimaru hadn't accounted for the sheer potency of the Kyuubi's chakra, which warped the already faulty seal. Thus, his physical appearance. Even the splinter of Orochimaru's being was destroyed by the Kyuubi's power the moment the seal was placed on him. As for the chakra spikes, it was because of the seal's original faults.

While other bearers of a Cursed Seal could call upon it at will, his would have activated randomly under times of high stress tied in with hard fighting. Thus, the chakra spikes whenever he was fighting someone that he had subconciously labeled as being 'stronger' than him, whether it was just because of someone's rank or because of a slight intimidation from some kind of weapon they had. Whenever the Cursed Seal would have originally been triggered, it would simply pull out bits and pieces of the Kyuubi's chakra to boost him, acting almost like an automatic offensive enhancement, kind of like a technique being used; Kiba's Shikakyu technique was one of the first to come to his mind when he learned about it.

As for his second tail, however, that was also a side-effect of the malfunctioning Cursed Seal. Apparently, whatever it was that Orochimaru used to create it, it had strange transformative powers that acted as the Cursed Seal's basis. Whatever it's original purpose was, neither of them could tell, but from what the Kyuubi had been able to sense about it, the seal was...evolving, in a way. Not that it was getting stronger or anything, but more like...an immune system getting stronger against certain things. It was essentially trying to adapt Naruto's body to the Kyuubi's chakra, allowing him to handle more of it's chakra at once. The number of his tails didn't equate to the same as the Kyuubi's, but it was enough that he could handle more without losing himself to it's dark influence so easily.

It had stumped Naruto and Jiraiya both when he'd relayed the information to the man; because of Orochimaru's interference, Naruto now had something that allowed him better control over the Kyuubi's chakra in limited amounts. And it was slowly getting stronger the more of said Bijuu's chakra he used? It was a surprising boon...

 **"What do you want this time, boy?"** The massive fox inquired irritably from within the shadowy confines of its prison while Naruto walked into the giant chamber.

"I just wanted to talk for a little bit. That's all." Naruto remarked as he sat down not too far from the cage's towering gates, staring up at the giant nine-tailed fox. "I can't sleep and thought you might have something to talk about."

 **"I have nothing to say to you. Leave me alone."** The Kyuubi growled out at him before forcefully ejecting him from their shared realm. Opening his eyes and finding himself back on the couch, Naruto couldn't help sighing with a slight grimace; was that what it felt like when he acted like an ass to everyone else?

"Glad to know that I've been acting like a total jackass half the time..." He grumbled quietly before taking a drink of his water, letting his legs stretch back out as he sat there. Letting his mind wander aimlessly, he eventually started thinking about what Haku had told him shortly after he got back to the apartment. She was going to try to become a teacher. That meant he was going to have to introduce her to the Sandaime to see if she'd even be able to join. As friendly and kind-hearted as he was, Naruto knew that the Old Man would always put the village first. He would just have to use that to his advantage if the Sandaime tried arguing the matter. He'll wait until after the Chuunin Exams to ask, seeing as the Old Man was probably busy with everything already.

Walking back to the room, Naruto set his water bottle on the nightstand before crawling back into bed, attempting once more to get some rest. Almost instantly, Haku sensed his body heat in her sleep and sluggishly cuddled up against him once more, burying her face against the side of his chest with an arm draped over his stomach and a leg tossed over his. Smiling warmly, Naruto held her close and closed his eyes, simply waiting for sleep to claim him...

xXx

Checking the calendar, Haku smirked slightly; October fourth. Just under a week before she could give him his birthday present. Luckily, his birthday fell on a day that was exactly one week before the finals were to take place. Naruto had been back for all of maybe twenty-four hours and she was already focused back on his birthday. Of course, she was still worried about him, but he had told her what was wrong a little while after he got back. As it turned out, Naruto was a little more broken than she had originally assumed; she couldn't imagine what he had gone through back then. At the same time, she was proud of him. Despite all of the horrors he had been forced to endure, he was still able to hold himself together most of the time and get through it all.

Even if he had needed to get put through mental rehabilitation by Jiraiya...

Naruto didn't tell her much about what had happened, but she wasn't worried about it. If it was important, he would tell her. She constantly worried over him enough as it was; she didn't need more things weighing down on her mind when it came to him. Besides, as far as she could tell, most of it had simply been Jiraiya keeping Naruto contained while trying to get the boy to focus back on reality again. During the solid year of near-total isolation he'd spent in that lab, Naruto had apparently gotten in touch with his 'animal instincts', which caused him to go feral. Now, it was something that would never truly go away.

Thinking of her boyfriend, Haku frowned slightly as she remembered that he was going back out to train with Jiraiya some more. She didn't have anything against the man, but she just worried that they didn't try to kill each other. Still, she was glad to know that Naruto was at least giving the man another chance to redeem himself. Shaking her head to clear it, Haku went back to getting breakfast ready. It wouldn't be much longer before he woke up, after all...

xXx

Jiraiya stood off to the side as he watched Naruto and his clones spar atop the small lake's surface, the multiple twin-tailed fox-teens using taijutsu only. The only key difference that set it apart from how the boy normally sparred with his clones was one simple thing; they all had red eyes, a clear sign of the Kyuubi's chakra being used. After Naruto's first visit with the Kyuubi, Jiraiya had once again offered to teach him for the rest of the month until the Chuunin Exam finals. For the most part, he wanted to make sure Naruto could control it properly in a fight. So far, he seemed adept at tapping into the Kyuubi's chakra, but couldn't really draw on much more than what the chakra spikes he told him about would provide, but it was more sustained now.

 _'It's still something.'_ Jiraiya mused as he watched Naruto and his clones trading blows, the original battling all fifteen...all _fourteen_ of his copies by himself. Using Kyuubi's chakra, Naruto moved faster than most chuunin, almost faster than most rookie jounin, but not in land speed; the boy was already fast as hell even without the Kyuubi's chakra enhancing it. No, he meant the speed of his strikes. The Toad Sage couldn't help smiling slightly as he watched Naruto dance around punches and kicks before countering while the clones' were left wide open from their attempts to hit him. What made it challenging was the fact that his clones were just as fast as him, making it harder to land a blow.

From what Kakashi had told him, Naruto fought by instinct, letting his body dictate where to go or what to do in a fight. He had been taught only a handful of things about taijutsu and had damn near created an entirely unique fighting style from it; while not an actual fighting style, it had the potential to be made into one with enough proper refinement. Because of his unique physiology, Naruto had greater flexibility than most people, his twin tails granted him better balance and more control over his center of gravity, and with his heightened senses, he could react to things far quicker than anyone else. The only ones in Konoha that beat the boy in terms of sensory awareness were those of Hyuuga blood due to their Byakugan. His opponent in the Chuunin Exam finals just so happened to not only be a Hyuuga, but a prodigy of the Branch House family. From what he'd been told, he was also quite brutal in a fight.

He'll have to focus Naruto's training to better deal with the Hyuuga clan's Gentle Fist fighting style, but as quick as Naruto's reflexes were, Jiraiya didn't think he'd have too hard of a time. The real issue was the presence of a second jinchuuriki in the exams; Sabaku no Gaara. The boy was capable of controlling sand with absolute ease because of the Ichibi no Tanuki's spirit sealed inside of him. That and he had an automatic defense that would be incredibly difficult for Naruto to deal with. He was a speed fighter, not a heavy hitter. Given enough time and proper training, he could be one day, but as he was now, he wasn't strong enough to deal with him. That would have to be rectified, just in case.

Sighing heavily, Jiraiya rubbed the back of his head as he closed his eyes and bowed his head; he had so much to teach the boy in such a small time frame. Thankfully, he was a quick learner, but Jiraiya didn't think he'd be able to get it all taken care of in only two weeks. Just under that, actually. He had faith in the boy, though. He was a tenacious little shit just like his parents, after all...

"Hey, kid! That's enough for now! Come here!" Jiraiya called out to Naruto, distracting him just long enough for a clone to get in a cheap shot. Almost instantly, Naruto rounded on them all in anger, using his claws to maul each and every clone around him, his feral side showing as he attacked them like a rabid beast. Watching with a flat stare, Jiraiya couldn't help sighing. That was one thing they needed to work on; his temper while under the influence of the Kyuubi's chakra. That, however, could wait until another time. A minute later, Naruto walked over to him while scratching under his chin, his eyes still red from sustained use of the Kyuubi's chakra; a passive training technique to find out how long he could hold it. So far, he'd been using it for the past hour without much of an issue apart from a slight drop in his chakra control. "I think it's about time I taught you something that should prove rather useful to you. You know what a Summoning Contract is, right?"

"Yeah...Why?" Naruto drawled out and then asked slowly, a flat look of suspicioun on his face. "You want me to sign the Toad Contract, don't you?"

"Stupid brat! Always ruining my fun!" Jiraiya snapped indignantly, fuming not unlike how a child would. "How the hell did you-"

"You're the _Toad_ Sage, you lech." Naruto interupted, simply staring at Jiraiya with mild annoyance. "I highly doubt you've got another Summoning Contract stashed in your back pocket."

"You don't know that!" Jiraiya argued, crossing his arms over his chest while glaring off to the side, still pouting.

"Do you?" Naruto asked, immediately calling the man's bluff.

"...No." The perverted old man muttered, his pout only worsening.

"That's what I thought..." Naruto sighed quietly, closing his eyes as he ran a hand over his head, smoothing out some of his fur.

xXx

"Hey, baby. How was training?" Haku greeted with a smile as she walked up to him, giving him a tender kiss on the lips as he stripped out of his armor and other equipment. Naruto, looking a little worse for wear, gained a half-lidded look that was a cross between annoyance and an exhausted pout.

"Feh..." He scoffed, getting a giggle from her as he shuffled over to the couch, flopping face down on it as he finally started feeling the physically draining side-effects of using the Kyuubi's chakra for so long. This time, Haku laughed a little louder at him, getting a disapproving growl from Naruto, who didn't even bother moving in the slightest.

"Aw, did you have a long day?" Haku teased mockingly as she walked over and patted his head, sounding as if she were making fun of a child. Still growling, Naruto retaliated with a low blow, not even bothering to look as he reached up and grabbed the inside of her thigh near her crotch. Squeaking quietly, Haku nearly fell over on top of him as her legs near gave out from under her, but she managed to catch herself. Cheeks burning red, Haku bit down on her bottom lip to suppress a moan as he squeezed her inner thigh, the fox-teen intentionally tormenting her to get back at her. "Y-You je...jerk..."

"Then quit making fun of me..." Naruto mumbled through the couch cushion as he let her go, getting a huff from the long dark haired young woman as she glared at the back of his head. Wanting to make a nuisance of herself, she laid down on top of him, getting another drawn out growl off disapproval from Naruto. "Get. Off."

"I can't do that until you stop ignoring me." Haku whispered teasingly in his ear, his growl only getting louder. Only this time, it wasn't quite so annoyed. Grinning cheekily, Haku hastily climbed off of him before running for the bedroom, laughing as Naruto tried grabbing her again before she could get too far from him. Sitting up, Naruto groaned as he stretched a little, his back popping as he did. Standing up, Naruto started walking to the bedroom while tugging his mesh shirt and gloves off...

xXx

Nearly a week later, Haku couldn't help giggling as Naruto lightly kissed her stomach, tickling her with his whiskers as he held her by her hips, both laying on their sides on the bed. Barren of clothes with the exception of her dark blue booty shorts, Haku bit her bottom lip slightly as one of his hands shifted lower, gripping her thigh just below her butt as he leaned his head up slightly to teasingly kiss her nipple. Cheeks reddening slightly, Haku encouragingly ran her fingers through the fur on his neck, only to moan softly as he wrapped his lips around the erect nub.

As he continued to tease her body, Haku let her eyes close, savoring the pleasure as he suckled her breast. It was finally his birthday, but she wasn't going to be giving him his present until later that night. She'd already talked to Jiraiya the other day to give Naruto the day off from training, which had earned her a good number of teasing jokes. In turn, they earned Jiraiya a senbon lodged in his ass cheek. The man wisely ceased with the teasing. She had already gathered up everything she would need yesterday, leaving only a little bit of preparation to surprise her beloved later.

"Ah, N-Narutooo..." She suddenly moaned out as her cheeks flushed a deep crimson, feeling his hand shift once more from her rear to between her legs as he moved up a little more. Cradling his head against her chest as he switched to her other nipple, Haku curled up slightly around his upper body as he teased her nethers, her breaths coming in quick and shallow from sexual stimulation. She had been working 'hard' to subtly teach him how to please her and she was glad that it was paying off so well; she didn't have to be so aggressive or dominating now. Hooking a thumb on her underwear, Haku struggled to focus as she pulled her panties down a little bit. "N-Naru...S-Stop te...teasing. Please."

Instead of answering her begging plea, he used his hold on her hip to pull her down more before capturing her lips in a passionate kiss, making her moan more heartily as he slipped his hand under the hem of her underwear. Holding the back of his neck and fisting her hand in his fur, Haku returned the kiss hungrily, her hips bucking slightly as he fingered her. Hooking her fingers under the waistband of Naruto's pants with her free hand, she tried pulling him on top of her, the fox-teen doing the rest of the work for her as she parted her legs slightly to give him better access to her most sacred spot. Once he was hovering over her, Haku lifted the leg situated between his to rub her thigh against his own crotch, getting an aroused growl from Naruto as he broke the kiss before sucking on her throat, his fangs lightly grazing the tender flesh and exciting her even more.

She couldn't wait for the day to be over so that she could make the night last forever for the both of them. Gasping for breath as she felt that all too familiar knot build up in her core, Haku squirmed and writhed under him in ecstacy. Thankfully, they had slept in until almost noon, leaving just a little less daylight to endure. She had done good holding out so far. Now, she just had to wait a few more hours...

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

A/N: To be honest, I never really intended to have so many 'limey' moments in these recent chapters, but they've been good build up towards Haku's plans for Naruto's birthday. It also acts as a sort of 'warning system', per se, for the soon to come attempt at lemon next chapter...Maybe. I don't know even I'll add that part yet. Anyways, Naruto and Jiraiya have been getting along a little better, but that doesn't quite mean everything is fixed up between them; still some unresolved issues they haven't addressed yet, but I don't plan on putting those in until after the Chuunin Exams. Hope everyone's enjoyed the new chapter.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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A Tale of Tails

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Chapter Eleven

"I'll be right back. Stay here." Haku instructed as she tried to get up, only for Naruto to grab her by the hips and pull her back down so that she was straddling him at the edge of the bed. Giggling, she kissed him lovingly, holding the sides of his head. Having spent almost their entire day either in bed or somewhere else in the apartment, Haku was glad that it was finally getting dark out. Time for his surprise. "Hehehe...I said I'll be right back."

"You're up to something..." He questioned with slightly narrowed eyes, getting a sheepish grin from Haku as she laughed nervously. "What is it?"

"Just stay here and you'll find out in a minute." Haku urged as she kissed him again, slipping her tongue into his mouth as she grabbed his wrists and moved his hands away. Breaking the kiss as she got up again, Haku quickly went to the kitchen, dressed in only her grey tank top and dark blue booty shorts.

After making sure he wasn't trying to follow her, Haku opened the fridge and dug out the cupcake she had gotten for Naruto, having kept it buried under some of the vegetables; something she knew he wouldn't willingly touch. Plus, she'd made sure to keep everything a well guarded secret, so he hadn't suspected a thing until now. Putting it on a small plate, Haku dug through one of the drawers to find the lone candle she had bought before putting in the middle of it. Having kept part of his present in the room, Haku didn't waste time lighting the candle before heading back to the room.

"Happy birthday, Kitsune-kun." She said as she walked in, catching Naruto off guard. She watched him glance over at the calendar tacked to the wall above the nightstand before realizing what day it was; he'd forgotten his own birthday, but after hearing about how bad they'd been up until now, she couldn't blame him for it. Walking over, she stradled him again with the plate in her hands. "Now, make your wish."

"So _that's_ what you were hiding..." Naruto mumbled with a smirk before closing his eyes. After a moment of thought, he blew out the candle's tiny flame before Haku set it down on the nightstand, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him lovingly. "How long have you been planning this?"

"A couple months now." She admitted with a cheeky grin. If anyone had surprised him with it, Naruto would have been in kind of a sour mood, having never liked his birthday since he was a child. The hatred he endured only grew worse on those days. Since it had been Haku, though, he found himself actually rather glad that she had found out about it and did something so sweet for him. Sharing one more kiss, he watched her grin turn a little more...predatory...for a moment before she leaned over and fumbled around under the bed with one hand. After a moment, she sat back up, still stradling him with a small box in her hands. "Now, before you open this, I want you to know that this is a present for your present. Okay?"

"A present for my present? What are you talking about?" Naruto asked cautiously, eyeing her with suspicioun again. She only stuck her tongue out slightly with another cheeky grin. Hesitantly opening it, Naruto couldn't resist the flat stare from forming on his face. "...Seriously? You got me...condoms for my birthday?"

"Mhmm..." She hummed out as she wrapped her arms back around his neck, smiling coyly as she kissed him lovingly, slowly sliding her tongue into his mouth as she leaned forward, making him lay back on the bed. Grinding against him for a few seconds to wordlessly get the point across, Haku slowly broke the kiss before leaning in and whispering in his ear. "That's because _I'm_ your birthday present..."

"That explains why you didn't want to leave the bed all day today, _Usagi-chan_." He whispered back, sending a shiver up her spine as his hands gently squeezed her rear. Biting her bottom lip slightly, Haku moaned softly into his ear, trying to get him as worked up as possible. Feeling his member swelling under her through their clothes, she grinned victoriously before grinding against him slower, another moan escaping her as he started groping her butt a little more roughly. "Now I know why you wouldn't let me finish back then."

"Mmhmm...I wanted it _all_ to myself." She whispered huskily in his ear, getting a quiet growl from him in response. Feeling him nip at her neck teasingly, Haku sat up with an enticing smile as she pulled her tank top off, discarding it next to the bed as she leaned back down to kiss him. Relaxing into the liplock as it started getting more heated as the seconds ticked by, Naruto let his hands wander across her body again, tenderly fondling her breasts as she rocked her hips against his, another quiet moan escaping her. Sitting up a little more and still rocking her hips as he continued massaging her breasts, Haku relished in how he watched her with hungering eyes, something that made her feel better about her body even though he'd seen her nearly naked multiple times already.

Laying back down on top of him for another passionate kiss, Haku moaned softly as their tongues rubbed against one another while her hands worked on undoing his pants. Breaking apart with a small laugh as Naruto rolled over on top of her, Haku simply laid there under him as he took his pants off the rest of the way, leaving him in his dark green boxers. Encircling his neck with her arms again, she pulled him back down for another tongue-filled liplock, moaning softly as he pressed against her again. Feeling his hand on her hip, Haku smiled lovingly against his lips while reaching down and starting to pull her underwear down, trying to remove them so that they could move on to the main event.

After helping her shed her booty shorts, Naruto leaned down a little lower on her body to take her nipple into his mouth, sucking on it as he cupped her other breast, squeezing it in his hand with her other nipple pinched between the knuckles of his fingers. Moaning louder than before as her arousal started growing too strong to take any longer, Haku forced him to detach from her breasts before having him sit up, only to tug his boxers down and then off of him with a bit of help. Looking up into his eyes as she wrapped her hand around him, Haku smiled seductively at him while grabbing one of the condoms she had given him for his birthday. Using her teeth to help open it, she slowly stroked him before slipping the protective rubber on him.

Laying back down as she pulled him back down with her, Haku captured his lips in yet another heated kiss while guiding him in, her legs hooking around his waist as he pressed close to her. Gasping softly as she felt him press against her exposed opening, Haku wrapped her legs around him fully before slowly pulling him closer, her eyes rolling back in her head with a throaty moan while her back arched slightly. Internally grateful for breaking her hymen a long time ago, she simply groaned against Naruto's neck and shoulders, holding him tight as he fully buried himself inside of her. Once she had grown accustomed to his girth and length, Haku let out a shaky breath before making him lean back slightly.

"Happy birthday, baby." Haku whispered lovingly as their foreheads touched, a warm smile on her lips as she kissed him for a moment. "I love you, Kitsune-kun."

"And I love you, Usagi-chan." Naruto whispered back before capturing her lips one more time, pouring all of his love for her into it as he slowly started to pull his hips back, the dark haired beauty beneath him moaning as he pushed back into her. Picking up the pace just a little bit, Naruto swore to himself to never let his feral side hurt her or let her be hurt. He was going to protect her with everything he had...

xXx

"Hehe, quit. You're going to make me burn myself." Haku laughed as Naruto held her from behind, nipping at her ear as the bleary eyed fox-teen watched her cook breakfast. Well...lunch. They hadn't called it a night until shortly before sunrise. She'd dragged him into the shower with her a little while before they went to bed, having originally intended to get cleaned up after everything. In the end, however, it turned into one last round before they did what they actually intended to do and showered. She still couldn't stop thinking about how Naruto looked after he was drenched by the shower; it kind of reminded her of an animal that had nearly drowned. "Okay, go sit down. I'll bring it over in a second."

Huffing quietly, Naruto gently kissed her neck before shuffling over to the table to sit down. Sitting down with his head resting on his crossed arms, Naruto continued watching her with a sleepy smile on his face. He had never thought it was possible for him; he was actually content with his life for once. Most would say it was because he'd gotten laid for the first time in his life, but it wasn't that. He'd felt content for some time now.

He remembered how restless he had been back when he was a kid, yelling to the heavens above that he would become Hokage one day. Back then, he struggled at every turn, damn near scared of his own shadow because of the villagers' hatred of him. After the hell he lived through under Orochimaru's 'care', he...lost himself. He gave in to his instincts after so long and became a beast. He couldn't trust anyone or anything, always seeking out the threat hidden in every word spoken to him. He had given up on his dream of being Hokage back then, never to pick it back up. When Jiraiya came into his life, the man had gone through his own hell trying to rehabilitate him, trying to bring out his human side again. Just when he thought he was good, when he was almost there...Jiraiya left him without warning.

Without that support, his mind crumbled, rapidly devolving back into that animal he'd been. He struggled again. He was still just barely able to function, sleeping in the woods and hunting for food, barely attending classes in the Academy, barely even capable of human thought. Somewhere along the way, he started piecing himself back together, somehow, and managed to build himself back up on his own. Even still, he was no different than the animal he looked like. He had only just regained his humanity a year before finally becoming a genin. That had been the state he was in when he first met Haku. While he had relapsed the other week, it had been because of old wounds he had ignored, never noticing how they had festered until he encountered his godfather again. Because of Haku, though, he had been far more controlled.

He had actually been totally feral when he had come home that night, but his love for Haku had tamed that beast somehow. Even in such a beastial mindset, he still saw her as someone he could trust, someone he could relax around. It had been the only reason why he didn't treat her like an enemy, like he would have treated anyone else. It was because of her that Jiraiya had been able to get through to him so fast. All he had to do was mention her, how she felt, and he became subdued. It was because of her that he felt content with his life.

Sighing quietly as he pushed those thoughts aside, Naruto focused back on Haku, on the present, as she kissed the top of his head. Smiling slightly as he sat up a little more so she could put his plate down in front of him, Naruto started eating as he idly wondered why she had taken it upon herself to do all of the 'house work', in a way, since she moved in. She refused to let him cook, she always took care of the laundry while he was out, she took care of most of the cleaning around the same time...He jokingly compared her to a housewife, even though that was nowhere near what she was. To him, she was a proud kunoichi and a beautiful young woman that he loved with everything he had.

Then again, she probably did it because she immediately knew he wasn't very good at taking care of himself...

"What?" Naruto mumbled a little sleepily before smirking at her, feeling her leg rubbing against his under the table. "Didn't get enough last night?"

"Oh, I could never get enough." Haku answered without a moment of hesitation, smiling coyly again as she took another bite of her food. She started laughing when Naruto nearly choked on his food at her immediate response, having not expected such a bold reaction. Coughing slightly, Naruto simply kept his gaze locked on his plate, his cheeks burning hot under his fur. Haku only started laughing even more; she had too much fun teasing him sometimes.

xXx

Sighing heavily, Naruto rubbed at his neck, wishing he hadn't destroyed his scarf, unintentionally, while mauling a horde of his own clones in a futile attempt to keep from going feral in his stressed out state. Ironically, it had been the final straw that pushed him into that mindset. Even still, he was slowly losing pieces of his usual outfit; first his kunai harness in his fight with Kiba, then his scarf, and even his clawed bracers and greaves were looking pretty bad. At least his trench knives and their holsters were still in good condition.

"I think Kakashi would have gotten here sooner than you." Jiraiya suddenly remarked from his spot as Naruto walked up, giving the boy a look of mild annoyance. "What took you so long?"

"I slept in a little later than planned." Naruto mumbled as he rubbed the back of his neck, looking off to the side awkwardly. He'd be damned if he admitted that it had been because of him and Haku fooling around a little more before he left for training. The perverted old man would never let him hear the end of it. "We've got one more week. What are we working on today?"

"First, the Summoning Technique. I want to make sure it wasn't a fluke last week." Jiraiya instructed as he stood up, having been sitting on the massive scroll he always carried with him. Sighing as he closed his eyes, Naruto bit his left thumb before smearing his blood across his right palm, his fingers flying through the five handseals for the technique.

"Kuchiyose!" Naruto yelled out as he slammed his right hand against the ground at his feet. In a massive plume of smoke, the hulking form of Gamabunta appeared, the fox-teen standing on his head.

 **"Damn it, boy! What is it this time?!"** The giant red-skinned toad bellowed, obviously unhappy about being summoned a second time by the boy without a fight being involved. Standing at the tip of his nose, Naruto peered down at the ground with a flat look, his crimson eyes half-lidded.

"He ran away again..." Naruto mumbled, annoyed how the man kept disappearing on him whenever he managed to summon Gamabunta, the Boss of the Toad Summons. Looking back at Gamabunta, he fidgeted slightly, scratching the back of his head. "Sorry, 'Bunta. The lech made me summon you again for some reason."

 **"Bah! Jiraiya! I know you can hear me!"** Gamabunta roared as he started looking around for him. **"Stop making the boy summon me for no reason! If I catch you, I'm gonna eat you! Got that?!"**

Waving to the toad slightly as Gamabunta huffed irritably, Naruto hopped down to a nearby tree before the massive toad disappeared in a second cloud of smoke. Dropping down to the ground as his eyes faded back to their natural icy blue, Naruto could only stare at Jiraiya as the man released the Henge on himself, having turned into a boulder to hide from Gamabunta. Why the hell was the supposed Toad Sage so scared of Gamabunta? He wasn't _that_ bad...

"So...What now?" Naruto grumbled, glaring at Jiraiya slightly. "Going to make me learn to do that stupid little kabuki dance thing of yours or should I just kick you in the nuts now and save us both the time and effort?"

"Stupid brat..." Jiraiya grumbled, though he was really impressed with how Naruto was able to summon Gamabunta so easily even though he was still just a genin. A genin with immense chakra reserves and a near-infinite supply of chakra from the Kyuubi sealed inside of him, but a genin nonetheless. Not even Minato had managed to summon the Boss Toad so fast. "Have you been practicing those techniques I left you a few weeks ago?"

"Do you take me for an idiot? Of course I have been." Naruto growled at the man, his eyes narrowed irritably. Crossing his arms with a huff, he continued. "And before you even ask, yes, I can do them. While I've been dealing with you every day, I've had my clones practice them elsewhere while using my trench knives so they wouldn't be a hindrance in the middle of a fight."

"Well...good." Jiraiya grumbled, finding it increasingly difficult to keep the brat busy with something. He hadn't expected Naruto to know the trick to Kage Bunshin when it came to training, but then again, it was a hell of a lot more effective for him than it was for anyone else due to the sheer amount of them he could create without even breaking a sweat. There wasn't much he could teach him at the moment that he could pull off in a week, even with Naruto's unfair learning curve, so he was kind of left at a loss of what to do with him next. Scratching his head, he sat back down on his scroll, thinking. "Well...Is there anything you know that you need to work on?"

"...I've got absolutely zero talent with genjutsu, but I can at least notice and dispell them when I need to." Naruto mumbled back in reply, scratching the back of his own head in thought as he stared down at the ground blankly. "I've already got a good number of ninjutsu under my belt. My taijutsu is fine for the moment. I guess I could work on getting my Wind chakra up to par."

"Wind chakra?" Jiraiya muttered in slight confusion, having not heard about him already learning about Elemental Chakra Nature. That's when he remembered how Naruto had put a kunai through a tree back when he had been spying on the boy's kunai training session a few weeks prior. "Oh, yeah! That's right. I had nearly forgotten about that. You know...That just might save your ass against that Gaara kid."

"You mean the psycho red head from Suna? I've already got a couple things planned for him, if we have to fight." Naruto answered, not sounding all that worried despite the power the Suna genin in question possessed. That's when he thought about something Haku had been teaching him a few months ago that he had honestly been slacking on. "Well...There is one thing I could work on."

"Oh? And what's that?" Jiraiya inquired before getting nervous when Naruto gained a rather fiendish look in his eyes. Forming only a single handseal, Naruto held one hand above his head, a pose he was somewhat familiar with.

"Kirigakure no Jutsu." The fox-teen stated with a smirk before the surrounding area was filled with a blinding mist. More surprised that he knew the technique than anything else, Jiraiya stood up while looking around, impressed by how thick of a mist Naruto had managed to summon up. A moment later, he felt Naruto's presence, but couldn't hear him. Waiting until the fox-teen was within range, Jiraiya half-heartedly swung out at the boy, smacking him on the back of his head, inadvertantly causing the mist to thin slightly to the point that they could see each other again. "Ow! Fucking asshole! What was that for?!"

"How'd you learn this technique? This isn't something Konoha has to offer _anywhere_." Jiraiya inquired curiously. "Not from the Library, not from any of the shinobi here, nothing. So...How?"

"Haku taught me. She's also been teaching me Muon Satsujin, too. I just...haven't been working on it recently." Naruto answered, rubbing the back of his head irritably. His answer made Jiraiya's eyes widen slightly upon hearing that; the Muon Satsujin was an almost exclusive Kiri technique that was only taught to those of chuunin rank and up, mostly to the candidates for the Seven Shinobi Swordsmen. How did the girl know it? That and seeing as she was able to teach him both, she was obviously skilled with either one. Could she have been a Kiri rogue? Or...was she taught by a Kiri shinobi? "Why? It's useful as hell and I'm actually pretty decent with it since my hearing is so good. So what's wrong with it?"

"...I never said anything was wrong with it. I just wanted to know." Jiraiya reassured, but on the inside, he was only coming up with more questions about Haku and her past. Like he had told the Sandaime, he wanted to look out for Naruto, not wanting anything bad to happen to him. "I'm actually kind of impressed. Seriously, boy, you are just full of surprises, aren't you?"

"Feh..." Naruto scoffed irritably as he glared off to the side, but Jiraiya could tell from the way the boy's twin tails were slowly swaying back and forth behind him that Naruto was actually a little happy about the praise he had recieved. With the revelation of some of the boy's 'secret techniques', Jiraiya couldn't help smiling confidently; he had no doubt in his mind that Naruto was going to dominate the finals now. The only thing that would keep him from making chuunin would be the village Council, but Jiraiya already had a plan for them if they tried anything stupid. Such was the power of a master spy...

xXx

"So, Jiraiya-san let you have the rest of the week off so long as you kept up with training your Wind chakra and practiced more with Muon Satsujin?" Haku inquired from her spot on the couch, laying down between his legs with her head against his stomach, having been reading the scroll in Naruto's hand on Wind chakra with him. It was her boyfriend's idea of some light reading before bed. Tilting her head back, she smiled slightly. "That's good. Gives me more time with you before the finals."

"As fun as that would be, Usagi-chan, I can't stay in bed all week. I still need to train." Naruto sighed with a small smile. Pouting childishly, Haku crossed her arms over her chest and closed her eyes, her cheeks a warm pink hue.

"I was talking about having more time to cuddle and sleep in..." She mumbled quietly in complaint, getting a short-lived laugh from Naruto. Her pout only worsened as she glared up at him. "Shut up! I'm needy!"

"I would have used the word 'adorable', but that works, too." Naruto teased, making Haku's blush worsen as she kept pouting. "Have you gone to see Sakura recently?"

"Mm-mm. I don't really have much I can teach her anymore." Haku answered as she relaxed, rolling over on to her stomach before scooting up more so that she could use his chest for a pillow with her arms wrapped around him. "Everything else I know is tied to my bloodline. I've written down as much as I could think of on herbology and everything else for her to study, but that's about all I can do now. Why do you ask?"

"Eh...Just wondering how she's been doing. That's all." Naruto answered before suddenly yawning. Finally rolling up the scroll and setting it on the coffee table, Naruto glanced down at Haku before smiling warmly, gently running his fingers through her hair. Smiling herself, Haku kept her eyes closed as she nuzzled his chest, enjoying the attention she was getting. When Haku yawned as well, Naruto figured it was time for bed, nudging her slightly. "C'mon. Let's go to bed. It's already past midnight."

"Mmmm...but I don't wanna move." Haku whined childishly, having just gotten comfortable where she was. Groaning in protest as Naruto slipped out from under her, Haku pouted for a moment, only for Naruto to suddenly scoop her up in his arms. Although caught off guard, Haku could only giggle slightly as Naruto simply carried her in his arms, heading straight for the bedroom. Closing the door behind him with his foot and bumping the switch with his elbow to turn off the lights, Naruto sat down on the bed before laying down with Haku, both having already changed into their preferred sleepwear a while ago. Getting comfortable, Haku nuzzled his chest again while pressing her body flush against his side, wrapping her leg around his with an arm laid across his stomach. "Mm...Yay."

"Hm. Too cute." Naruto teased, lightly poking her cheek. It immediately earned him a one-eyed glare from Haku, her cheeks nearly glowing red. "Sweet dreams, Usagi-chan."

"Goodnight, Kitsune-kun." Haku mumbled back, getting comfortable once more before yawning again. Smiling tenderly, Naruto held her close, the pair sleeping without the covers for once due to his air conditioner unit finally dying on them the earlier in the afternoon; something he'll have to get taken care of at some point tomorrow. Pushing the thought of his head, Naruto got comfortable and closed his eyes, sleep gradually taking hold of him...

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	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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A Tale of Tails

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Chapter Twelve

It was finally time. Haku had already gone to meet up with Sakura to get find some decent seats to watch the matches, leaving him by himself for a little while. Tightening the straps to his armor pieces and adjusting the holsters to his trench knives, Naruto sighed slightly. He wasn't exactly nervous about the coming fights, but he was a little bit anxious. No, not anxious...excited. Remembering who he was going to be fighting in the first round, however, Naruto narrowed his eyes while staring down at the ground. Hyuuga Neji. He wasn't all that close to Hinata, but she had always been a kind girl. For his brutality against her, he was going to put the little bastard in his place...

Walking away from the training field where he had become a genin, Naruto cracked his neck and took a deep breath, psyching himself up for the coming fights...

xXx

"Hey, stop looking around and face the customers." Shiranui Genma spoke up, making the gathered chuunin-hopefuls focus once more. Of those gathered, Shikamaru and Naruto had been glancing around in search of Sasuke, the Uchiha nowhere to be found. "In this main tournament, you guys are the stars."

"Naruto looks eager for a fight." Haku remarked with a small smirk from beside Sakura, confusing the pinkette slightly. To Sakura, he looked as stoic as usual.

"What do you mean? He looks just as annoyed as usual." Sakura questioned, getting a knowing smile from Haku.

"Look at his tails." Haku instructed, making Sakura focus on them. That's when she noticed. Normally, if he were annoyed, they'd be flicking back and forth, but this time, they were slowly swaying behind him. Still, Sakura couldn't help noticing something about him. Haku also noticed how Naruto started staring at Neji with narrowed eyes. "He's most definitely eager to fight."

"Hey...What happened to his scarf?" Sakura inquired, getting a sheepish look from Haku. "I haven't seen him without that thing in almost two years now."

"He...kind of ruined it during training a couple weeks ago." Haku mumbled while lightly scratching her cheek; she wasn't about to tell her the truth about Naruto's feral side. "I wonder what is taking Sasuke so long. I thought for sure he'd have been on time, if not early for the finals."

"Yeah..." Sakura mumbled, knowing he had gone out of the village with Kakashi to train, but...there's no reason why they wouldn't be back yet.

"THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR COMING TO THE KONOHA CHUUNIN SELECTION EXAM!" The Sandaime Hokage bellowed, using a touch of chakra in enhance the sound of his voice, from the balcony he and the Yondaime Kazekage were going to be watching the matches from. "WE WILL NOW START THE MAIN TOURNAMENT MATCHES BETWEEN THE EIGHT PARTICIPANTS WHO MADE IT THROUGH THE PRELIMIARIES! PLEASE STAY AND WATCH UNTIL THE END!"

"As tough as Naruto is, I feel sorry for him." Ino commented from the other side of Sakura, unknowing of the slight narrowing of Haku's eyes as the ice-wielder stared at her out of the corner of her eye; she didn't like people bad-mouthing her boyfriend. "He's facing Neji first thing. He stands no chance against him."

"Do not underestimate him, Yamanaka. Naruto is far stronger than any of them down there." Haku retorted coldly, surprising Sakura and Ino with her sudden change in mood. "He put himself through hell these past few weeks to make sure he would have the advantage against each and every one of the genin down there. Neji will lose."

"Now, the first match! Uzumaki Naruto versus Hyuuga Neji!" Genma declared, drawing everyone's attention to the arena floor. "BEGIN!"

"I'm going to enjoy watching you fall apart when you realize how futile it is." Neji remarked smugly as he entered his Juuken stance. Naruto simply closed his eyes and drew his trench knives before hunkering down, his bladed fists raised into a boxer's guard. They were quiet and still for a moment before Naruto spoke up, his eyes still closed.

"Did you really enjoy bullying Hinata back then when you tried to kill her?" Naruto questioned, his tone soft, but cautioning; Neji's answer would dictate the pace Naruto set for the fight. Neji glared at the fox-teen in response.

"Why do you care so much? She is _weak_." Neji spat coldly. Taking a slow breath, Naruto tightened his grip on his trench knives before his eyes snapped open. A second later, Naruto was right on top of him in an instant, one hand cocked back for a swing. Just as Neji was about to counter with a smirk on his face, the Hyuuga noticed the half-seal Naruto was forming with his other hand, his smirk vanishing a moment later.

"Suiton: Teppoudama!" Naruto barked out before spitting out a fist-sized water bullet at Neji from point-blank range. Unable to react quick enough, Neji was struck in the middle of his chest, the power behind it being enough to send him tumbling across the ground for a few meters before getting back to his feet a second later. However, Naruto was already flanking him, forming another half-seal while his other hand was cocked back once more, only open handed for a palm thrust. "Fuuton: Reppushou!"

 _'How can he be this fast?!'_ Neji mentally snarled as he barely threw his arms up defensively before being launched backwards again by the powerful blast of wind that slammed into him. Instead of pressing the advantage again, Naruto stayed where he was this time, his instincts telling him that if he tried that again, Neji would counter it. Besides, it wasn't meant to take the Hyuuga down. It was to prove to Neji that he could be touched, that he could be beaten. Now, to prove to him that his eyes do not see everything...

"Kirigakure no jutsu." Naruto growled out as he formed a half-seal with one hand, the other held above him. Just as Neji tried rushing him, the arena floor was blanketed in a thick and heavy mist. Since it was confined by the arena walls, it condensed the chakra that laced the water particles, making it difficult for even the Byakugan to see through. Which Neji had just activated in an attempt to find the fox-teen.

"Coward! Stop hiding from your fate!" Neji yelled angrily, getting only a taunting laugh from Naruto that echoed all throughout the arena.

"We are _shinobi_ , Neji. We will use every advantage we have to accomplish our goals." Naruto returned from all around, only for Neji's eyes to go wide a moment later when his voice sounded off from directly behind him, as if he were whispering in his ear. "And what happened to your all-seeing eyes?"

Whipping around, Neji slammed his palm into the fox-teen's chest, only for him to go up in smoke; a clone. Gritting his teeth as the concentration of chakra grew heavier in the mist, Neji scowled as the water molecules began clinging to him enough to leave his skin glistening with moisture and for his clothes to grow damp. His Kaiten would be capable of blowing away the mist, but he wasn't about to reveal his trump card so easily. That's when he saw a faint orange glow within the mist.

"Katon: Endan!" Naruto exclaimed before the ball of flames shot toward Neji, who barely dodged out of the way in time. The sheer intensity of the flames was enough to evaporate the moisture around them, creating a cloud of steam as the fox-teen released the Kirigakure technique. He had proven his point to Neji, but now he had to conserve some of his chakra for later fights instead of using so many ninjutsu; he might have a lot of chakra to spare, but he was only decent with creating Wind chakra. The other elements were draining for him. "Do you get it now, Neji? You go on and on about how it is your fate to win or how someone is destined to fail...and yet here you are, barely even able to do anything against me right now."

"Shut up!" Neji snapped as the steam dispersed, revealing Naruto with four Kage Bunshin around him. Neji resisted the urge to grimace, unable to tell the difference between them; they all had the same amount of chakra and since Kage Bunshin were solid copies, they had chakra circulatory systems of their own. He needed some time to better determine where the real one was. "You know nothing of destiny, you ignorant fox!"

"...You should have just kept your mouth shut..." Naruto growled quietly as his eyes flashed red for a moment, catching Neji off guard. Up in the stands, Haku and a few others who knew the fox-boy well enough winced upon hearing what Neji had said. Insulting him like that was taboo. All five doppelgangers surged forward, their paths criss-crossing before rushing the Hyuuga from all directions. Eyes going wide, Neji was actually forced to put effort into dodging and countering their attacks from how fast and agile they were.

Leaning back as one clone kicked at him, Neji was caught off guard as a pair of tanto-length claw-blades of red metal extended from its greave, forcing him to block the leg at the ankle with his wrist. Before he could strike at the copy, Neji was forced to shove off of the clone's leg to redirect a rising knee-strike aimed at his head, but his hand never touched the fox-teen as a third clone came from below the second, giving the second clone a kick board to go over the Hyuuga. He was getting frustrated. They were too quick and coordinated for him to counter-attack properly. Spinning on his heel, Neji forcefully expelled chakra from all over his body.

"Kaiten!" The Branch House Hyuuga roared as a rapidly spinning dome of chakra formed around him, dispelling all five Kage Bunshin. Coming to a halt after a couple seconds, Neji was revealed to have numerous paper cuts littering his body from the faint Wind chakra coating Naruto's trench knives grazing him ever so slightly and looking a little out of breath. However, Naruto was nowhere to be found. That is, until two clawed paw-like hands burst from the ground at Neji's feet, grabbing him by the ankles and yanking him into the packed soil until he was buried up to his chin.

"Doton: Shinjuu Zanshu." Naruto stated as he rose from the ground a few feet away, dusting himself off with a cold look on his face, trench knives holstered. "Never underestimate your opponent, Neji. No matter who they are."

"You should listen to your own words." Neji snarled before focusing his chakra, expelling it from all around his body again as if he were using the Kaiten, but it wasn't to form the domed barrier; it was to create some space between him and the soil, allowing him to escape a second later. "Even with all of your tricks, you can not beat me. You never will. You...are a failure."

"Hmph...If you're refering to my standing as the lowest ranked graduate in my class, even my old classmates know it was because I rarely went to the Academy." Naruto remarked, unimpressed by Neji's barb. He was still fuming a little bit over the Hyuuga calling him an ignorant fox, anyways. Being called a failure wasn't enough to set him off. "And if you think you're so unbeatable, then why don't you take the offensive this time? I'll even stay right here to give you a chance."

"You'll regret giving me that opportunity! Hakke Rokujuuyonshou!" Neji exclaimed while changing up his stance before rushing Naruto, who was well within range for him to attack, his hands striking in quick succession, pushing Naruto back with each jab to his tenketsu. First, two strikes, then four, then eight, the number doubling every time, but even still, Naruto didn't try to dodge or counter. He simply gnashed his fangs in a vicious snarl, letting Neji hit him with his strongest attack. Finally finishing off the seemingly endless combo with one last jab, Neji sent the fox-teen sliding back a few feet, but Naruto still didn't drop to the ground until he came to a full stop, taking a reluctant knee. Even then, he was still glaring at him as blood dripped from the corners of his mouth. However, Neji wasn't worried; his tenketsu had been closed, neutralizing his ability to use chakra.

"I have closed sixty-four of your tenketsu. You can no longer stand, let alone use your ninjutsu. Stay on your knees before a power you can not change and realize your worthlessness." Neji spat coldly as he glared right back at Naruto, who...started grinning. He watched as Naruto slowly forced himself to stand back up and looking steady on his feet despite his inability to utilize chakra or anything at the moment. "Just stop already before you hurt yourself worse. Continuing to fight won't change anything. I have no grudge against you..."

"Yeah? Well, I do..." Naruto growled out as he grin turned into a fanged snarl.

"What do you mean?" The Hyuuga grunted out, still unthreatened by Naruto in his severely weakened state.

"Why is it...that if you're this strong...that you had to tear down Hinata with your words before you two even took up your fighting stances?" Naruto demanded, his breathing a little shallow from the Hyuuga's attack. Neji instantly narrowed his eyes.

"That's none of your business." The Hyuuga snapped coldly, making Naruto smirk again.

"Oh, but it is. Everyone else might hate my guts, but I still look out for them." Naruto countered, only for his smirk to shift back to a snarl. "That's why pieces of shit like you disgust me, always putting others down for no other reason than to make yourself feel better. Always looking down on everyone else. I'll wipe that smug look right off your face..."

"You want to know why so bad? Fine. I'll tell you about the Hyuuga clan's destiny of hatred." Neji remarked coldly, simply staring at Naruto's futile attempts to seem intimidating. "The Hyuuga clan has a special ninjutsu that's been passed down for generations. It's a cursed seal."

"Oh, I'm familiar with those..." Naruto mumbled quietly, but not loud enough for Neji to really notice he'd said anything.

"The curse of the mark represents a 'bird in a cage'. It is a symbol of being tied down to an inescapable fate." Neji explained as he took off his hitai-ate and started taking off the cloth wrappings set around his head. Seeing the mark on Neji's forehead, Naruto couldn't help it; he started laughing. "How dare you?! You demand to know why I verbally attacked Hinata and you dare laugh?!"

"Hahaha! That's it?! _THAT_ is why you tried to kill her?! Because of that bullshit seal on your forehead?!" Naruto laughed, at first, before his humor turned into anger. "You think that's a curse? Have you not seen my entire _body_?! _THIS_ was caused by a _true_ Cursed Seal! Have you not seen the hatred in _everyone's_ eyes as they glare at me?! That seal on your forehead can still be removed, but my body can NEVER go back to the way it used to be! And even if it was, it wouldn't change everyone's hatred of me! So you can shut the fuck up about your 'woe is me' bullshit! It is _YOU_ that knows nothing, but claims to know everything!"

"Wha...What is this chakra?" Neji stammered out quietly, taking a half-step back in slight fear as red-orange chakra started pouring out of Naruto's body, his eyes turning red once again. Snarling viciously, Naruto knew he had to calm himself down, but with how recent his last mental breakdown had been, his feral side was showing itself. Growling deeply as a third tail started to form, Naruto closed his eyes and started taking deep breaths, trying to focus. Picturing Haku's smile in his mind, Naruto felt himself starting to calm back down, the red-orange chakra receeding back into his body. Once he was back to normal, sans his red eyes, Naruto glanced behind him to see the third tail swaying with the original pair, growling angrily in response.

"Do you see, Neji? Their fear? Their hatred of me?" Naruto snarled quietly as he pointed a hand towards the audience stands, directing Neji's attention to them. True to his words, Neji saw only fear and hatred in many of their eyes and it was all aimed at Naruto. "Even after dealing with their bullshit for as long as I can remember, I still do not hate them in return. I might be an asshole to most of them, but that doesn't mean I hate them. I act like an asshole to most of them because they act like assholes to me. Even then, I will still give my life to protect these idiots. Why? Because _they_ are Konoha. Not these buildings, not the trees. The people are what make this village what it is and despite their hatred, I will continue to fight for them until my dying breath."

Neji was actually subdued by Naruto's rage and then by his rant. Even as Naruto spoke, his eyes closed the entire time, Neji could see a good number of Konoha's populace growing uncertain of their opinions of him after hearing what he had to say. Many questioned their beliefs about the fox-boy and while many of those same people didn't seem all that ready to change their minds on him, there were some that still did. Even so, the hatred Naruto endured compared to what he felt towards Hinata...His hatred of the Main Family was but a ripple in a pond compared to the tsunami that Naruto faced daily.

"Your so-called 'curse' is petty, Neji, regardless of that seal's capabilities or origins or purpose...You nearly killed your own family member because you couldn't handle your shit." Naruto stated as he locked his eyes back on to the Hyuuga, who was busy putting his hitai-ate back on. "That is why I have a problem with you, Neji. Your bullshit about fate and destiny is ridiculous. If it were true, I should have been dead a long time ago...but here I am, still standing strong."

"You still won't beat me." Neji stated coldly before suddenly sprinting toward Naruto, his hand cocked back for a palm strike. Just before his hand could make contact, though, Neji's wrist was suddenly caught in a vice grip, making him wince. Looking up, he saw only Naruto's icy blue eyes glaring back down at him. In an attempt to break free and strike back, Neji lashed out with his other hand, only for it to be caught at the wrist as well. "H-How...How are you still able to..."

"Because _no one_ tells me what I can and can not do." Naruto growled out coldly before smashing his knee into Neji's stomach hard enough to lift him off the ground. Letting go of Neji, Naruto switched legs with a slight hop just as he had done with Kiba back during the preliminary round before kicking the Hyuuga away from him, sending him flying for a few meters before eventually sliding to a stop.

"Neji really should learn to watch what he says to him." Sakura mumbled a little apathetically, getting a look from Ino while Haku smirked faintly behind the high collar of her top. "Naruto doesn't like it when people tell him that he can't do something. Especially when it comes to a fight."

"Yeah. He's stubborn like that." Haku agreed, watching her boyfriend carefully, just in case he started losing control of himself again. She had faith in him, but...the simple fact that he had gained a third tail was a little worrying. Had he been using the Kyuubi's chakra that much recently? Or did he draw just enough of the Kyuubi's chakra to cause it to form? She wasn't the only one to ponder such questions among those that knew the truth behind his appearance and tails. She was just worried about him; the third tail had formed in front of so many people. It might cause him a lot of trouble with the villagers.

"I'm tired of playing around, Neji. Doton: Doryuu Heki!" Naruto declared after a short string of handseals, slamming his hand on the ground a second later to cause a wall to rise up directly behind him. Bracing himself against it, Naruto kept his eyes locked on Neji as he got back up and tried rushing Naruto again. Building up chakra in his legs, Naruto waited until Neji was nearly half-way to him before bolting forward, appearing like a blur of red-orange and grey, even to Neji. Getting close, Naruto feinted an attack from below, causing Neji to adjust his guard before springing off the ground and vaulting over the Hyuuga. While above him, Naruto had just finished another short string of handseals before expelling a stronger projectile of water than before. "Suiton: Teppoudama!"

Eyes going wide as the water bullet slammed into his back between his shoulders, Neji was smashed into the ground hard enough to dig up a shallow trench from his momentum. Landing on his feet and sliding to a stop, Naruto took a deep breath while turning to find Neji struggling quite a bit to get back up this time. After a minute or two, Neji finally managed to stand, but he was holding his right shoulder in pain as his whole right arm hung limply at his side.

"..." Neji simply stared at him for a few seconds before closing his eyes, the bulging veins from his Byakugan fading away as he held up his left hand. "Proctor. I forfeit."

"Winner: Uzumaki Naruto!" Genma called out a second later and few a little bit, the stadium was silent. Growling quietly under his breath, Naruto pinned his ears back while turning to head to the competitors' viewing box when he heard something, stopping in his tracks after only a single step.

Ears perking up and swiveling around, he focused his hearing on it before it slowly started getting louder. Clapping. It started as only just a handful of people scattered around the stadium before it suddenly built up to rolling thunder as a few people even started cheering. Honestly surprised, Naruto looked up at the audience with wide eyes, his ears sticking straight up in his shock as they twitched back and forth. They...They actually liked the fight? He had been expecting people to start booing and jeering at him for beating Neji, but...he'd been wrong. Smiling a little awkwardly, Naruto rubbed the back of his neck before staring down at the ground, not really sure how to take the applause. Thus, he simply went through the passageway built into the thick walls of the arena, heading to the balcony the other competitors were located while a couple medic-nin came out to get Neji checked out.

 _'Good job, Naruto.'_ The Sandaime thought to himself, recalling the boy's words about what Konoha was. While the rant seemed a little out of place, it was actually what had changed the hearts of so many that were present. Even still, his eyes found groupings of shinobi that were assigned as the real judges of each contestant's potential as a chuunin. A good number of them looked like they had enjoyed the match quite a bit, giving the old man hope that Naruto just might be made a chuunin by the end of the tournament.

"Hahaha...They're quite restless, aren't they?" The Kazekage asked rhetorically from his throne-like chair beside the Sandaime's identical seat. Hiruzen couldn't help the smirk from forming on his face.

"Indeed. It was a fantastic match, after all." The Hokage responded, but the Kazekage shook his head slightly.

"No. I'm sure that may be part of the reason, but it's more likely because of the next match." The blue and white robed 'Wind Shadow' explained, turning his eyes down to the VIP portions of the stadium's audience. "For the experienced lords and shinobi leaders, there isn't a match they'd enjoy more. By the way...where is he?"

"Nice moves down there, Naruto. I honestly didn't think you'd come out on top after he hit you with that one move." Shikamaru admitted to the fox-teen as he walked up, but Naruto was still a little dazed from the crowd's reaction to him. "And that weird thing with your tails...What was that about?"

"Nothing. Don't worry about it." Naruto coldly mumbled, the mentioning of his tails snapping him back into focus. He wasn't about to let his secrets be known to others. Only those that needed to know and none of them were currently present. Glancing around, he narrowed his eyes slightly. "Sasuke still hasn't shown up? He's up next."

"lADIES AND GENTLEMEN! THE CONTESTANT FOR THIS MATCH HASN'T ARRIVED YET! THEREFORE, WE WILL PUSH THIS MATCH BACK AND BEGIN THE NEXT ONE !" Genma declared from down in the arena, amplifying his voice with chakra not unlike how the Sandaime had in the beginning. Ignoring the sound of the audience, Naruto grimaced slightly.

"That lucky bastard better get here soon..." Naruto growled quietly under his breath, his ire having grown worse due to the formation of his third tail. He'll have to start limiting how often he uses to the Kyuubi's chakra to keep from sprouting them so often. Any more and he'll have some issues with the villagers, regardless of their reaction to his match...

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Suiton: Teppoudama- Water Release: Bullet

Fuuton: Reppushou- Wind Release: Gale Wind Palm

Katon: Endan- Fire Release: Fireball

Doton: Doryuu Heki- Earth Release: Earth Style Wall

A/N: And there you go, guys! The first match of the Chuunin Exams is over and everyone gained some insight into some of the ninjutsu techniques Naruto had been keeping stashed up his sleeve, so to speak. I made sure to keep them all C-rank so that they couldn't be labeled as being over powered, even though Doryuu Heki is considered B-rank, but that's almost purely defensive (depending on how crafty you are). Also, showcasing a little of his skill with Kirigakure no jutsu and Muon Satsujin, but not too much; the only reason he had been able to 'blind' Neji was because of the arena itself allowing him to better condense the mist. Anywhere else and he'd have been screwed. Anyways, I hope everyone enjoyed the new chapter...and I'll try to make them a little longer next time...


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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A Tale of Tails

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Chapter Thirteen

"Always with the theatrical shit..." Naruto mumbled with sigh, closing his eyes with his arms crossed over his chest. Puppet Boy from Suna had forfeit his match against Shino before it could even begin, which threw up a red flag in his mind; why would he talk so much shit all throughout the Exams, just to forfeit during the finals before he even fought his opponent? After that, Shikamaru had fought Temari, Puppet Boy's teammate, but the Nara had drawn out the fight for almost an hour before just giving up right after getting her cornered. Thankfully, it had been just long enough for his wayward teammate to arrive for his match against Gaara, the jinchuuriki of the Ichibi no Tanuki.

"H-Hey, Gaara. About the plan, do you under-" Kankuro tried speaking to his little brother, but Temari hastily covered his mouth, shutting him up as she eyed Gaara nervously. Unknown to them, one of Naruto's ears twitched, swiveling around slightly to focus in on their hushed voices at the opposite end of the viewing box. Furrowing his brow a little in deep thought, Naruto wondered what their 'plan' was and what the psychotic red head had to do with it.

"Don't talk to him right now." Temari whispered sharply, still watching her little brother. "You'll be killed."

 _'Just what are they planning?'_ Naruto mused as Gaara started walking away, heading down the stairs to enter the arena just as Shikamaru walked back in. He knew Sasuke didn't stand a chance against Gaara if the red headed nutjob decided to unleash the power of his tenant...but could that be their 'plan'?

"Uchiha Sasuke versus Sabaku no Gaara! Begin!" Genma declared as he chopped a hand down before jumping back to put distance between himself and them. Opening his eyes finally, Naruto heard the two Suna genin muttering amongst themselves again while he watched Gaara start holding his head in pain, his sand swirling around him slightly.

"Looks like they're talking again. This is bad..." Kankuro whispered quietly, he and his sister watching Gaara cautiously; if he lost control now, it would screw up the plan.

"I've never seen Gaara like this before a fight..." Temari mumbled worriedly, her scent strong with concern for the red head more than anything. "Is he really that much of an opponent?"

Half-way tuning them out again, Naruto watched the fight unfold with calculating eyes. He had to admit that Sasuke had gotten quite fast, almost as fast as him at his highest speed. However, he was more agile, capable to changing course a lot easier and he was quicker at it, too. Normally, he would attribute it to the boy's Sharingan, but even from where he was, he could tell Sasuke wasn't using it yet. Another thing was that Gaara's sand was sluggish. The further away it was from his body, the slower it moved, but the closer it was, the faster it could react. Filing that piece of information away for later, Naruto watched as Sasuke was actually starting to land hits on the crazed red head, but...the moment distance had been created again, Gaara formed a handseal, causing his sand to form a dense protective orb around him.

Suddenly smelling a spike of fear, Naruto glanced at the Suna genin out of the corner of his eye, seeing the look of terror and disbelief on Kankuro's face while Temari's eyes were filled with panic. Glancing back down at the arena, Naruto watched as Sasuke's attempt to punch through the sand failed, his knuckles bleeding slightly along with his cheek and his leg just above the knee where he'd been grazed by a couple of the dozen sand spikes that jutted out from the orb's surface.

"Damn it...Gaara..." Temari muttered under her breath, half afraid _of_ her brother and half afraid _for_ him. While distracted, Naruto winced upon hearing what was possibly the world's most aggravating sound before focusing back on Sasuke; the source of the shrill chirping birds coming from the build up of Lighting chakra in his left hand. Eyes widening slightly as Sasuke rushed the orb of sand, Naruto realized it was the same sound he'd heard back on the bridge in Wave Country.

"Chidori!" Sasuke exclaimed as his lightning-covered hand _easily_ pierced Gaara's dense shell of sand.

"No way..." Kankuro muttered in shock. "Gaara's ultimate defense was..."

"It can't be." Temari whispered, just as stunned. While he had no doubt that they had reason to be so surprised, Naruto remained suspicious of them. Just what was their 'plan'? That was when he heard the blood curdling scream and felt the sudden spike of demonic chakra.

"BLOOD! MY...MY BLOOD!" Gaara howled fearfully from within his dome, screaming loud enough that almost everyone in the arena could hear him. Eyes and ears focused solely on the fight down below, Naruto watched as Sasuke struggled to pull his arm out, only to cause another burst of Lightning chakra to form in his hand inside of the sphere. Freeing himself, Sasuke hastily jumped back as fast and as far as he could, a grotesque arm of arm reaching out for him before simply falling to the ground once he got out of reach. Naruto's instincts were screaming at him now; Gaara was most definitely a very dangerous individual.

"Did he transform into his compelte form?!" Kankuro nearly demanded of his sister as they watched the arm retreat back into the sphere. Glancing back at them for a second, Naruto noticed just how panicked they were.

"I don't know! It looks like he was wounded!" Temari responded frantically. "This has never..."

The shell cracked around the hole Sasuke had punched into it before gradually collapsing, revealing Gaara once more. Hunched over and grasping his bleeding left shoulder, Gaara glared at the startled Uchiha across from him. Naruto shifted his weight back and forth uneasily, the feeling of the Ichibi's chakra exciting the Kyuubi's chakra inside of him.

"I knew it, he's hurt!" Temari hissed to her brother, unknowing of how Naruto's ear swiveled back to focus on them again. "The cocoon was broken while he was still incomplete!"

Just seconds after hearing that, Naruto felt something wash over him...like a sense of calm while feathers started drifting down in front of him. Snapping back into focus, Naruto formed a handseal and flared his chakra, breaking free of the wide-spread genjutsu. A moment later, Naruto and everyone else heard the echoing boom in the distance to the East, sounding like a bomb or something similar to it. The genjutsu had been just enough to distract him as the two Suna genin jumped down to join their wounded third. Drawing his trench knives, Naruto dropped from the viewing box to chase after them, already forming a handseal as he dropped.

"Tajuu Kage Bunshin!" The fox-teen roared before several dozen copies of himself hit the ground and darted off in every direction possible, already intercepting both Suna and Oto shinobi that had been hiding in disguise. Just as he himself landed and started heading for the Suna team, they had already taken off, hopping over the wall farthest from him. Gnashing his teeth, Naruto didn't even acknowledge Sasuke as the Uchiha fell in step beside him in pursuit of the three Suna genin.

"Kai!" Sakura muttered while releasing herself from the genjutsu, only to look up in time for the shadow of an Oto shinobi to fall over her. Eyes wide with panic, Sakura froze for a moment. Just as the man tried to stab down at her with a kunai, a red-orange and grey blur shot past him moments before blood gushed from his slit throat. Another blur shot by from the same direction as the first, shoulder-checking the dying man and knocking him back in the other direction so that it didn't fall on top of her. "Na...Naruto?!"

"Wake the others! Us clones won't last too long on our own like this!" 'Naruto' barked out before darting off again to intercept another Oto shinobi. Getting her wits about her again, Sakura started doing as he'd said, starting with Haku beside her.

"Ugh...What happened?" The Yuki mumbled while holding her head as she sat up again. Only to see the dead Oto shinobi in front of her. "Ah! What the hell?!"

"Keep your head down, damn it!" Another of Naruto's clones snarled, shoving Haku's head back down as he landed over top of her, his feet braced against the backs of the seat in front of her and the one beside her while using his other hand to deflect the shuriken hurled at her by another enemy. "Focus! We're under attack!"

"No shit!" Haku growled back at him as 'Naruto' took off to run interference to buy some time for the older and more experienced Konoha shinobi in the area while Sakura headed elsewhere. Readying her senbon while putting on her new hunter-nin mask, Haku stood up fully before flinging the needles at a charging Suna shinobi, dropping the man to the ground in an instant. Locking kunai with an Oto shinobi, Haku coldly glared at the attacking ninja from behind her solid grey mask, the swirl design she had on her old one having been painted on it in dark blue. Before the man could react, Haku had formed the few halfseals she needed before stomping her foot on the ground. "Hyouton: Sensatsu Suishou!"

Forced to use the blood around her from the previously slain Oto shinobi, numerous scarlet needles rose into the air around them before freezing into lethal shards. A split second later, Haku broke the deadlock while chucking senbon into the older ninja's legs, immobilizing him as the blood needles crashed down on top of him. 'Burying' her heart, Haku ignored the dead man as she prepared some more senbon. There were people that needed her help...

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"Damn it..." Temari hissed as they came to a stop, the glaring fox-teen from earlier standing in their path with his trench knives drawn.

"And just where do you think you're going?" Naruto snarled while Sasuke smirked a tad smugly from behind him. "You think you can do _this_ and think you can just run away?"

"Temari. Take Gaara and go." Kankuro stated firmly as he removed Karasu from his back. "At the very least, I'll buy you some time..."

"Kankuro..." Temari whispered softly in worry, hesitating to do as he said.

"Go, Temari!" Kankuro yelled, snapping her out of her thoughts and causing her to take off as fast as she could with Gaara. Attaching chakra strings to Karasu and sending the puppet flying to the side, Kankuro managed to intercept Sasuke, stopping him from chasing after Temari. His grimace turned into panic as Naruto shot by him at high speeds, a shallow gash across his thigh from the fox-teen's trench knive being the only 'exchange' between them. "Shit!"

Having caught Shino's scent right before the blonde Suna kunoichi took off, Naruto wasn't worried about Sasuke, knowing he had back-up. He didn't have to go too far before catching back up to his prey just in time to watch Gaara swat his blonde teammate aside. Without hesitating, Naruto jumped higher before springing off another branch, sending himself rocketing towards Gaara as the red head tried turning around. Adding a touch of Wind chakra to his blades, Naruto flew past Gaara like an arrow, only to rebound off another branch, sending himself back upwards. In that same instant, Gaara's eyes widened slightly before flinching as a gash ran down the length of his body, just barely getting through his Sand Armor and leaving a superficial cut in his skin. Not deep enough to draw any blood, but still deep enough to cause some pain.

Coming in for a second pass, Naruto was caught completely off guard when Gaara swung his arm at him in a backhanding motion, his sand rapidly gathering along the limb in the form of the grotesque arm from earlier. Having nothing to rebound off of, Naruto's eyes went wide before the arm slammed into him, launching him backwards. Barely catching himself on a branch, Naruto stayed in a three-point crouch, glaring down at Gaara as his tails flicked back and forth.

"You, that is strong...You, that has companions...You, that has ambitions...You, that is like me..." Gaara growled out slowly, holding the side of his face with his normal hand as he glared back at Naruto. "Once I kill you, I will be the one to have destroyed all of that. Only then can I survive...Only then can I prove my existence!"

"...And what will you do when you have destroyed everything?" Naruto growled out as he stood from his crouch. "How will you know you existence then? You will cease to have purpose. You will cease to exist."

Snarling and drooling like a truly rabid beast, Gaara glared up at Naruto as the deformed sand arm creeped up to cover the right side of his face. Forming a handseal to create a dozen Kage Bunshin, Naruto and his copies shot down at the mutated red head, their trench knives nearly glowing with Wind chakra. Zipping past him and leaving grazing wounds in his sand-coated flesh, Naruto scowled slightly before bouncing off of a tree branch, all of the fox-teens redirecting themselves back up for another pass. That had been the plan, at least...

"Suna Shuriken!" Gaara snarled as he swung his mutated arm in a wide arc, dozens of little shards of sand shooting out and hammering into him and his clones. Moving his armored forelimbs in front of his body protectively, Naruto's eyes still went wide as the deceitfully powerful sand shuriken slammed into him. Instantly stopped in mid-air and thrown back again, Naruto winced painfully as his forelimbs were pelted. By the time the volley ended, Naruto's greaves and right bracer had nasty cracks in them, his left bracer missing a chunk of armor near his elbow. Even still, he'd been grazed on his thighs and upper arms by some of the shuriken.

"Gah!" Naruto coughed out painfully as he slammed into a tree back-first, dropping to a branch below him on his hands and knees. Growling even worse than before, Naruto glared up at Gaara. He wasn't about to let Gaara destroy _anything_ he cared about. Forcing himself to his feet, Naruto ignored the touch of blood dripping from his jaw. "You were wrong...by the way..."

Instead of answering, Gaara only lunged at Naruto, clawed limb outstretched. Calming himself back down, Naruto focused and jumped up just as Gaara crashed through the branch he had been on. Flipping over in mid-air, Naruto planted his feet against the branch directly above his previous spot before rocketing back down, spinning slightly as he lashed out with his trench knives again. Twin gashes formed on the back of Gaara's thighs, the chakra-infused blades biting a little deeper than before. Ignoring Gaara's roar of pain as he ricocheted off a branch and went back up, Naruto stared down at him with a cold fire burning in his eyes as he landed on a branch above the crazed red head.

"I have _no_ ambition. No dream..." Naruto answered quietly. "I fight only to protect what little I have because I know what it is like to have _nothing_...and I will never go back to that. You will not touch _anything_ precious to me. I promise you that, Gaara."

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"Look out!" Haku cried as she lunged forward, tackling a civilian out of the way of a collapsing wall, the building it belonged to burning down after being hit with a Katon technique amongst the chaos. "Get to the shelters!"

Locking kunai with another Oto shinobi as the civilian ran off, Haku narrowed her eyes behind her mask only for the invading enemy ninja to go wide eyed just before collapsing to the ground in a boneless heap; a kunai was lodged in the back of his neck. Looking up, she saw the rattled expression on Sakura's face and knew she was going to need some emotional support after making her first kills during the battle. Steeling her resolve and focusing back on the fight, Haku ripped the kunai out of the dead man's neck before rushing towards another enemy shinobi.

 _"Focus, girl! Damn!"_ Inner-Sakura growled in the pinkette's head, snapping her back into focus. Expression going blank with the re-establishment of her Shinri Kuro, Sakura heard someone behind her and immediately jumped straight back as fast and as hard as she could, her elbow cocked back and wrist grasped in her free hand. The Suna shinobi that had just landed behind her was caught off guard as her elbow caught him in the throat, instantly crushing his larynx and trachea, leaving him to choke to death. Or he would have, if she hadn't twisted her arm around moments after impact, bending him backwards with his neck caught in a sort of guillotine choke hold. A moment later, his neck was snapped and his body dropped to the ground. _"Worry about it 've got work to do right now."_

Taking a deep breath as a slight twitch started to develop under her left eye, Sakura cracked her neck slightly before readying one of the last few kunai she had. Idly, she thought about the teasing little nickname Ino had stuck her with back in the Forest of Death; the Mad Doctor. It wasn't half bad, really. She kind of liked it. It suited her...

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"Chidori!" Sasuke called out as he shot between Naruto and Gaara just as the crazed Suna genin lunged for the fox-teen, his lightning-covered hand tearing through Gaara's mutated sand arm. Landing, Gaara clutched at his right shoulder, laughing madly as the arm slowly started reforming. Temari could only watch in utter shock and terror, watching as the two Konoha genin actually wounded her previously believed 'invincible' little brother.

"HAHAHA! I see! So that's what it was! Why I'm so excited! It's this pain!" Gaara howled with insane joy and blood thirst. "Defeating a man capable of hurting me and utterly destroying him! That's what gives me an even greater sense of existence! HAHAHA! More! I want more!"

 _'This is getting out of hand.'_ Naruto thought to himself as he watched part of Gaara's gourd dissolve into sand, which was quickly starting to form a tail behind him. He could also see that Sasuke was tiring quickly after using Chidori again. Then again, so was he. Constantly focusing Wind chakra into his trench knives was draining him, but he also didn't want to draw on the Kyuubi's chakra yet. He was already pushing his limits with it, having formed a third tail earlier. He didn't want to risk forming a fourth and catching even more fire from the villagers. His life was hard enough as it was...

"HERE I COME!" Gaara roared as he lunged from his perch, the claws on his sand arm shooting out to grip a few other branches as he set himself up to slingshot towards Sasuke.

"Suiton: Teppoudama!" Naruto barked out as his hands flew through handseals before cocking his head back as his cheeks puffed up. Lurching forward, he expelled a powerful water bullet that slammed into Gaara's arm just before he could fling himself at Sasuke. Thei mpact alone was enough to rip off half of the sand around Gaara's real arm while the force of his attempted slingshot pulled him away from the rest of the soaked sand. Flying back and colliding with a tree, Gaara growled while his removed sand arm dissolved and drifted back towards him in order to reform his arm again. Repeating the handseals, Naruto focused more chakra into the attack. "Suiton: Teppoudama!"

"HAHAHA!" Gaara howled with laughter as he used his sand tail to block the larger and more powerful water projectile, which destroyed part of the limb and drenched half of the sand he had on his body as his right arm reformed.

"Katon: Goukakyuu!" Sasuke yelled before expelling a blaze of fire that engulfed Gaara, only for the crazed red head to burst out of the flames and lunge towards the Uchiha again. Cursing under his breath, Naruto shot forward and shoulder checked Sasuke out of the way, Gaara's clawed sand arm crashing into him hard enough to launch him backwards. Crying out in pain as his back collided with another tree, Naruto growled under his breath, struggling to move for a second as his healing factor started working on stitching the flesh of his chest back together. It was a little slow, however, and it would be a little bit before his ribs stopped hurting, too.

"You...idiot." Naruto growled at Sasuke from his spot, watching as the Uchiha tried rushing Gaara with another fistful of Lightning chakra.

"Chidori!" Sasuke shouted with effort as he did his best to sustain the needed chakra output for the technique. However, half-way through his airborne charge, he lost control of it, the Lightning chakra fading away. In the split second that remained before the two of them clashed, Sasuke's hand once more exploded with Lightning chakra just in time to cleave Gaara's right arm of sand off again. Narrowing his eyes upon seeing the black markings reaching across Sasuke's face, though, Naruto knew he had to step in and fast.

Forcing himself to his feet just as Sasuke collapsed in pain from the Cursed Seal, Naruto rushed to intercept Gaara before he could try to kill Sasuke, his sand arm having shifted over to his left arm this time. Planting his feet against Gaara's face, Naruto kicked the crazed jinchuuriki into another nearby tree while he flipped in mid-air, already forming a Kage Bunshin that appeared behind him. As their feet connected, they shoved off of one another to send them both flying in two different directions; Naruto towards Gaara and his clone towards Sasuke to move him away from the active battlefield. Blocking the clawed limb with a bladed fist that he pivoted himself on, Naruto avoided the counter and kicked off, putting some distance between them again.

"What do they mean to you?" Gaara suddenly growled out as the three-tailed fox-teen landed across from him. Glancing back towards Sasuke, Naruto watched as his clone fled the area with the Uchiha in tow...or it would have, if it weren't for the projectile of sand that unfurled into a clawed hand, destroying his clone on impact and pinning Sasuke against a tree trunk. Snarling with bared fangs, Naruto glared at Gaara. "He must be precious to you is you're trying to save him so bad...What happened to not letting me touch anything precious to you? Better act fast if you want to save him..."

"You're going to regret pushing me so far, Gaara..." Naruto growled out quietly as the sand claw tightened its grip on the tree, squeezing the unconcious Uchiha just a little more. Slowly getting angrier with the Suna genin, Naruto closed his eyes and took a slow deep breath. Sharply exhaling and causing a burst of heated steam-like air to rush out from between his fangs, Naruto's eyes snapped open to reveal his crimson irises. He had no choice now.

If he grew another tail, he'll just have to deal with the backlash later. He wasn't going to risk Sasuke getting killed a second time, not when he could do something to prevent it. At the same time, Gaara's sand had shifted to form his right arm again, his entire body from about mid-thigh and up being covered in sand now. Crossing his arms in front of him, Gaara formed numerous spiked protrusions on his forearms before slinging his arms.

"Suna Shuriken!" The red head roared as dozens of the sand stars shot out at Naruto. Eyes going wide, Naruto barely managed to curl up again, his armor taking the brunt of the attack once again. Slamming against a tree again, Naruto gnashed his teeth against the pain as he tried standing back up, his armor beyond repair now. His bracers were shattered with only pieces still attached to the bands that held them in place, his greaves in a similar state. Naruto closed his eyes and tried focusing his mind, trying not to let his feral side come out; it would only cause more problems than solve them at the moment.

Still, he couldn't believe how close he used to be to turning out just like Gaara. Despite his issues with the man, if Jiraiya hadn't come into his life back then, he just might have become a mirror image of his fellow demon container. It was the main reason why he had been trying so hard to not kill him, thinking that there was still a chance to 'save' Gaara from himself. It was getting hard, though. Stripped of his armor, limited on options, running out of chakra, no reinforcements...He needed to step up his game if they were going to survive the fight.

"What's wrong? Afraid of me?" Gaara snarled tauntingly as he watched Naruto slowly and shakily stand up again, taking off the scraps that remained of his armor as he did. "To fight for yourself...or to fight for others...Just love yourself! Fight only for your sake! That is what defines the strongest!"

"No...That is not true strength." Naruto growled out quietly without looking up to Gaara just yet, still holding the remnants of what had been his right bracer; the claw-plate that had adorned the back of his hand, specifically. "Only when you have something important to you to protect... _THAT_ is when you are at your strongest. Here, let me demonstrate..."

"Wha...?" Gaara was cut short, however, as a pair of the fox-teen's clones appeared on either side him, their legs already raised and in motion. Caught off guard, Gaara had both of his legs kicked out from under him before a third Kage Bunshin dropped from above, spinning in place before kicking him in the back of the head hard enough to smash his face against the tree limb he'd been standing on. A single swing of his tail, however, destroyed the three clones instantly as he growled angrily, standing back up a moment later.

"Tajuu Kage Bunshin." Naruto snarled while forming the lone handseal he needed, a small army of clones popping into existence all around them. While a little surprised by the sheer number of clones, Gaara only sucked in as much air as possible, his body visibly swelling slightly as numerous fanged mouths formed all over him.

"Mugen Sajin Daitoppa!" Gaara bellowed as he 'exhaled', sand blasting all of his clones simultaneously as they lunged for the red head. Having hung back on purpose, Naruto burst out from the smoke once the wind had died down, his trench knives holstered for the moment. Realizing that the fox-teen was behind him, Gaara tried turning in time to swat him away, only for Naruto to flip over his arm and tail, kicking off of Gaara's forearm to create some distance again.

"Katsu!" Naruto barked out with a handseal, causing the explosive notes he had placed at the base of Gaara's tail and between his shoulders to detonate. Twisting his body and landing on his feet atop another branch, Naruto formed another handseal. "Tajuu Kage Bunshin!"

As the dust cloud around him dispersed, Gaara could only watch with wide eyes as dozens upon dozens of clones popped into existence all around him, his sand oozing off of him like sludge from the explosions. Drawing their trench knives simultaneously, Naruto's clones channeled Wind chakra into their blades before lunging at Gaara from all directions. Eyes widening further, Gaara could only feel panic for a moment, not wanting to be defeated. Not yet...

In a sudden explosion of sand, Naruto's eyes went wide in return as his clones were immediately destroyed by the now hulking form that loomed over him. Hand shaking just a little bit, Naruto stared up at the full-sized Ichibi no Tanuki, dread chilling his blood for the first time in a long while. So much so that he didn't realize he was being wrapped up in Gaara's sand until the last second. Swiping his hand across his bloodied chest, Naruto formed the needed handseals before planting his hand against the sand engulfing him.

"Kuchiyose!" The fox-teen yelled before a massive explosion of smoke erupted from the point of contact. Free of the sand, Naruto took a knee atop Gamabunta's head as he panted heavily, running even lower on chakra now despite tapping into the Kyuubi's to replenish his reserves. "Sorry for bothering you, 'Bunta...I'm in a bit of trouble and needed your help."

 **"Bah! Think nothing of it, kid."** Gamabunta rumbled as he puffed on his pipe, drawing his blade in a reverse grip as he eyed Shukaku's form. **"You're part of the family now. It's my duty to protect the family. You might want to hold on tight, though, kid."**

"Way ahead of you, 'Bunta." Naruto remarked with narrowed eyes just before Gamabunta lunged toward Shukaku, the three-tailed fox-boy clinging to the top of the massive toad's head with chakra...

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Mugen Sajin Daitoppa- Infinite Dust Great Breakthrough


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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A Tale of Tails

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Chapter Fourteen

 **"Gamadosuzan!"** Gamabunta roared as he lunged at Shukaku with his tanto drawn in a reverse-grip. His blade pierced through Shukaku's shoulder, but as he passed by the mass of sand, Gamabunt lost his grip on the blade just as he finished the swing, completely severing Shukaku's left arm from its body in the process. Touching back down on the ground and sliding for a 'short' distance, Gamambunt puffed on his pipe a little bit in irritation, his hands numb and shaking from the strain of cutting through Shukaku's dense sand-body. **"He's a tough sombitch, that's for sure...Barely managed to finish the cut before I had to let go of my sword."**

"Don't stress it too much, 'Bunta." Naruto mumbled back in reply before glancing over at the Toad Boss's massive tanto, the weapon stabbed into the ground uncomfortably close to where Sasuke was pinned. "Avoid that area, 'Bunta. My teammate is trapped down there."

 **"Bah! One complication after another..."** Gamabunta grumbled before leaping to the side, putting some more distance between them and Naruto's teammate while drawing Shukaku's attention further away from that area.

"You're fun! This is fun!" Gaara howled madly, his voice coming from Shukaku's form as his body appeared on the monstrosity's forehead. "Uzumaki Naruto!"

 **"So, that's the container..."** Gamabunta mumbled idly to himself, narrowing his eyes slightly while Gaara formed a single handseal.

"Thank you for keeping me entertained..." The red head growled out dementedly, Naruto barely hearing his words from so far away. "Now I'll show you the true powers of the sand demon. Tanuki Neiri!"

 **"I'M FREE! HIYAAHOOOO! And there's someone right here that I want to kill right off!"** Shukaku howled excitedly, its eyes gaining a golden coloring to them as it took full control of its body. Raising its remaining arm, Shukaku sucked in a deep breath before slamming its hand against its stomach. **"Fuuton: Renkuudan!"**

 **"Hold on!"** Gambunta warned as he jumped to the side, dodging the powerful Wind-based projectile as it ripped up a whole line of trees for hundreds of meters, missing the Toad Summon Boss. Forming a handseal of his own, Gamabunta decided to 'return the favor' with his own attack, his cheeks puffing up. **"Suiton: Teppoudama!"**

 **"No fair!"** Shukaku loudly whined, though only mockingly as Gamabunta fired off a half dozen house-sized water projectiles at it, only to suck a deep breath again, fist already coming down on his stomach. **"Fuuton: Renkuudan!"**

"Shit! Not good!" Naruto snarled as he hunkered down more, the Ichibi having fired off three consecutive shots with only two of them being intercepted by Gamabunta's attacks, the third slipping past them and on a collision course with the Toad Boss. Raising his arms defensively, Gamabunta was hit by the ball of compressed air, engulfing him and Naruto in a dense cloud of smoke and dust as it hit.

 **"YEEAAH! I DID IT!"** Shukaku cheered energetically. **"I killed him! I killed him!"**

 **"That hurt! You pumped so much damn chakra into that last one!"** Gamabunta yelled irritably as he slammed a webbed hand down on the ground, dispersing the smoke surrounding them. Looking rather roughed up from the attack, Gamabunta scowled. **"I'm not gonna be able to take another hit like that one, kid. We're gonna have to think of something and fast."**

"Don't worry about that, 'Bunta. I've already got an idea." Naruto responded while straightening up a little bit again. "Just get me close to him."

 **"You familiar with a Konbi Henge?"** Gamabunta inquired somewhat randomly, making Naruto glance back towards one of the giant toad's eyes and nod; he'd done it with some of his clones during a couple of his past training sessions, mostly trying to find different ways of fighting with his clones. **"Good. Be my will and form the seal. I'll give you my chakra. Just give me something with claws and fangs so I can keep that tanuki punk restrained!"**

"Gotcha, 'Bunta!" Naruto acknowledged before Gamabunta suddenly jumped straight for Shukaku, the giant toad forming another handseal just as Shukaku readied another Renkuudan.

 **"Suiton: Teppoudama!/Fuuton: Renkuudan!"** Came the simultaneous shouts from both giants, their attacks colliding in mid-air. Another simultaneous shout was heard by Shukaku, his line of sight blocked by the smoke screen. **"Konbi Henge!/** Konbi Henge!"

 **"Wha-!"** Shukaku's surprised exclamation was cut short as the 'Kyuubi no Kitsune' burst through the smoke and slammed into the sand-tanuki, biting into its throat while digging its claws into Shukaku's arm and side, holding it still. Even still, Shukaku couldn't help laughing. **"AHAHAHAA!"**

 **"Now, kid!"** Gamabunta shouted around the mouthful of sand, the 'Kyuubi' going up in smoke as they broke the co-coperative technique. Rocketing from off Gamabunta's head with chakra amplifying his leg power, Naruto shot forward as if he'd been fired from a cannon, unintentionally hurting the Toad Boss's head from the force of his take-off. Cocking back a clawed paw-like hand, Naruto snarled viciously as he reached Gaara in a split second, Shukaku's eyes widening.

 **"NOOO!"** Shukaku roared defiantly, futily struggling as Naruto's hand wrapped around Gaara's neck, the speed and velocity of his launch letting him pull Gaara free of the sand before they both sailed over the giant sand-tanuki's head. As the light faded from the sand-tanuki's eyes, Shukaku was forced back into the seal that bound it to Gaara, its body collapsing into its base element while Gamabunta, seeing that he was no longer needed, 'un-summoned' himself and returned to his homeland to recover from the fight.

"You stupid...FOX!" Gaara roared furiously, his eyes blood shot and crazed as he slugged Naruto across the jaw hard enough to knock him away, both teen's still in free-fall. Crashing through tree branches, they finally hit the ground not too far from one another, both seriously hurting from the hard landing, both exhausted from their battle...

"I found the Uchiha!" Pakkun called out to the genin with him as he landed next to the unconscious Sasuke, who had luckily fallen onto a decently sized branch that had been a short distance below the spot he'd been pinned at. Landing next to him, Sakura immediately started checking his vitals; apart from an increased heart rate and being a little warm to the touch, probably from the Cursed Seal, he was otherwise fine. Excluding his injuries from the fight, Sasuke was alright.

"Phew...Lucky~..." Sakura sighed quietly while using the back of her gloved hand to wipe away the sweat that had built up on her forehead from the run. "He'll be fine. Can you find Naruto?"

"The one that stinks of fox, right? He's this way." The nin-dog remarked gruffly before running off, the pinkette following behind him...

"How...How are you so strong?" Gaara hissed between labored breaths, hunched over and barely standing. Not looking much better, Naruto pushed himself away from the tree he'd been leaning on, using the back of his hand to wipe away the blood from his split lip. Gaara had a deceptively solid right hook for someone that wasn't very good at taijutsu. "How is that you just keep fighting?! Tell me!"

"I already did, Gaara..." Naruto growled out quietly before a momentary wave of dizziness washed over him from chakra exhaustion, forcing him to lean against the tree once more. Vision clearing back up, Naruto glared back up at Gaara, still breathing heavily. "True strength...doesn't come from yourself. It comes from...having something precious, something you want to protect. When you have something you want to protect...you'll do whatever it takes to keep that precious thing safe. Right now, for me...that precious thing I'm protecting is the village...because everything I care about is in it. Those teammates of yours...They're your siblings, right? Your scents are so alike..."

"Im...Impossible..." Gaara whispered in shock as he watched Naruto slowly start walking towards him, ignoring Naruto's question and comment about Temari and Kankuro. Too weak to move, Gaara knew if he tried taking even a step himself, he'd fall instantly. So how...how was that damn fox doing it?! They were both at their absolute limits!

"We're not too much different from each other, Gaara. We've both been burdened with something that has brought us great pain and hardships...You could almost say it makes us something akin to brothers bound not by blood, but by our understanding of each other's pain..." Naruto mumbled out, his eyes locked with Gaara's as he slowly shuffled forward; the only reason he hadn't lost his balance and fallen over yet being his three tails behind him helping counter his slight swaying. "That's why I fight so hard, though...I know what it's like to have nothing...and I refuse to go back to that kind of hell. I don't care if the people I'm protecting hate me...So long as they're all safe in the end, I couldn't care less about what happens to me..."

"No...Get away from me!" Gaara snarled as he tried to swing at Naruto as he got closer, aiming to punch him again. Raising his arm, Naruto swatted his hand away before driving his own fist into Gaara's face as hard as he could, knocking the red head back a few meters. Hitting the ground, Gaara was unable to move as he watched Naruto finally stumble and fall, hitting the ground without even attempting to catch himself. Thinking he had passed out since he didn't move for a few seconds, Gaara could only stare at him with sea-foam green eyes wide with disbelief, ignoring the busted lip he'd been given by the fox-teen. That's when he saw Naruto twitch slightly, only to reach out with one hand, digging his claws into the earth for grip before starting to pull himself forward, his other arm sluggishly following after it. "N-No...No! My existence won't end here! It can't! Get...Get away from me!"

"Being utterly alone...Feeling so empty inside...That pain you feel...I've endured it before...I know what it's like..." Naruto rasped out as he kept inching closer to Gaara, lifting his head enough to look at Gaara again, only this time...Gaara was shocked to see a few tears in the fox-teen's eyes. Even as the tears kept flowing from his icy blue eyes, Naruto's gaze suddenly hardened once more, his lips curling into a slight snarl. "Because I know that pain...I won't stop...not until I'm sure that my precious people are safe. You ask why I keep fighting...I keep fighting...because my love for them won't let me stop. They saved me from that hell and I'll do anything...to make sure that they're safe. That's why...if you're going to hurt them...I'll give my life to stop you, if I have to. Keep forcing my hand...and I'll have no other choice...than to bury my heart...and kill you...before you can kill them..."

Gaara could only stare at Naruto in shock, actually listening to his words as Naruto came within just a couple feet of him. He was so determined to keep fighting and was so strong...because of his love for others? Not...himself? Was that why he lost to him? Because he only fought for himself? Thinking back to a childhood memory of his uncle, Yashamaru, Gaara found himself unable to counter Naruto's words.

"That's enough, Naruto. The fight's over." Sakura stated as she landed beside her teammate, taking a knee beside him to put a hand on his shoulder. "Sasuke's safe. He'll be okay."

"I'm glad to hear that..." Naruto sighed out quietly, relinquishing his hold on the soil as he stopped trying to reach Gaara. The red head himself was shocked yet again as he watched Naruto slowly give in to his exhaustion, passing out where he was. Smiling slightly, Sakura gently ran a hand over the unconscious fox-boy's head, only for her eyes to narrow with a hardened gaze, looking up just as Temari and Kankuro landed beside their little brother. Clenching her other hand into a fist tight enough to make her glove groan at the strain, Sakura was glad she'd kept her Shinri Kuro active, slowly standing as she readied herself for a fight.

"Temari, Kankuro...That's enough." Gaara nearly whispered as he stared up at the leafy canopy above them. "Like the girl had said...The fight is over. Let's go home..."

"...Alright, Gaara." Kankuro mumbled quietly as he knelt down with Temari, the both of them hooking one of their brother's arms over their shoulders. "Anything you say, little brother..."

As they left, Gaara continued thinking about what Naruto had said, the source of the fox's unrelenting drive plaguing his thoughts. Thinking back on everything he'd done in the past, Gaara now knew the true path to the power he wanted. He had craved power for a long time, wanting to make sure he would always have the strength to protect himself. Naruto, however, had shown him the error of his ways. He'd taken blows for his teammates, fought desperately to protect them and his village, and even faced against Shukaku's power, only to still come out victorious in the end. Closing his eyes, Gaara knew what he had to do now...

"Kankuro...Temari..." He stated quietly, getting their attention as they carried their little brother back in the direction of Sunagakure. "I'm sorry..."

"It's...It's nothing..." Temari responded softly, forcing herself to stay strong as her heart ached for their baby brother; she had hope now. She had hope that she could finally get her little brother back. "Don't worry about it, Gaara."

xXxXxXx

Just days after the battle for Konoha, two events had taken place. One had been a mass funeral service for the proud men and women that had given their lives for Konoha during the invasion. The other had been a funeral service held for the Sandaime Hokage, who had died in his fight against Orochimaru. Crouched atop a building not too far away, Naruto blankly stared at the distant picture of the old man, uncaring of the rain as it fell from the sky, drenching everything. It was almost as if the gods themselves were mourning the old man's passing...

Despite his blank stare, Naruto was crying, his tears hidden by the rain. Slowly standing up, Naruto closed his eyes before suddenly grimacing. That grimace turned into a snarl, however, as he spun on his heel and took off, going on a much needed run as he glared ahead of him. Yet again, Orochimaru had stolen something precious from him. First, his humanity. Now, the man he saw as his grandfather...

He was going to make that man pay. He was going to find him and, with his bare hands, he was going to kill Orochimaru. He didn't care how long it took him. He was going to end that man's life. Tripping over a root during his run for the first time in years, Naruto could only cover his head with his arms and curl up before colliding with the water-logged ground, rolling once before sliding into a tree. Not even bothering to move, Naruto simply laid there, curled up and crying. He didn't care how the cold rain made him shiver in addition to already shaking from his grieving sobs. He didn't care about the mud matting his fur. He didn't care about any of it...

He just wanted the old man back...

xXxXxXx

Frowning slightly with worry, Haku gently ran a hand along one of Naruto's ears as he slept, his head resting in her lap after crying himself to sleep. Shortly after it stopped raining, she'd found him, soaking wet and covered in mud, in the park just down the road from their apartment, curled up under a tree and crying his eyes out. After getting him back to the apartment and getting him cleaned up, Haku had put him in bed, but he refused to let go of her. Not that she had planned on going anywhere. She was too worried about him. She was worried that he might relapse again. Not only that, but he was obviously in pain, grieving the loss of his surrogate grandfather. Of course she wasn't going anywhere.

"My poor baby..." She whispered softly as he stirred for a moment, curling up a little more as his hand lightly gripped the underside of her thigh in his sleep. Continuing to gently pet him, Haku couldn't help feeling like their roles had reversed. He had been there for her when she lost Zabuza. Now, it was her turn to be there for him. She couldn't imagine being anywhere else other than by his side. Feeling him move a little bit again, she looked down to see his eyes slowly open before gently caressing his cheek and the side of his neck. "You didn't sleep very long...Do you at least feel a little bit better?"

Naruto didn't say anything as he slowly sat up, but he still nodded his head a little bit. Reaching over, she pulled him closer to her with his back to her chest, her legs on either side of him. She knew he wasn't going to be up to doing much of anything, so she figured it'd be best of they just stayed where they were. That was fine by her. She was still feeling a little shaken up from the invasion, her fear of losing him having made itself very well known to her ever since she found out he had been taken to the hospital after his fight with Gaara. Relaxing against her, Naruto closed his eyes again while gently covering Haku's hand with his own, interlocking his fingers with hers. Feeling her gently kiss the top of his head, he couldn't help smiling faintly.

"It'll be okay, Kitsune-kun. I know you're hurting right now, but it'll pass with time." She whispered comfortingly as she tightened her embrace a little bit. He knew she was right, recalling the words he had spoken to Gaara during their fight. It was something the Sandaime had called the 'Will of Fire', something that all of Konoha's people carried with them; something the Sandaime had sacrificed himself for. It didn't help lessen the pain in his chest any, though. Frowning slightly, she held him a little tighter as she rested her cheek against the top of his head. "I didn't know him and I'm sorry if I upset you by saying this, but...I don't think the Sandaime would want to see you like this, Naruto. I think he'd want you to keep going forward. He gave his life to protect this village for a reason, didn't he? Isn't it the same reason why you fought against Gaara so hard?"

"...I'm sorry." Naruto suddenly whispered, squeezing her hand a little bit. "I didn't mean to upset you..."

"Oh, baby...You didn't upset me." Haku whispered back, kissing the side of his head as she gently rubbed the side of his chest with her free hand. "I just don't like seeing you so depressed and gloomy. That's all."

Smiling a little bit, Naruto brought Haku's hand up to his mouth before gently kissing her knuckles, getting a small smile from Haku as she held him. Letting go of her hand and sitting up, Naruto turned around before gently kissing her, the raven haired beauty returning it whole heartedly as she cupped his face with her hands. Resting his forehead against hers as they broke apart, Naruto stared into her eyes with a small, loving smile on his face.

"You're too good to me." He mumbled softly, getting a mock look of annoyance from Haku as she shoved him over onto his back, getting a small laugh out of him.

"I'll show you 'too good', you jerk." Haku grumbled half-heartedly with a pout as she straddled him, kissing him deeply. Interlocking fingers with him again, only with both hands, Haku couldn't help giggling as Naruto rolled over on top of her. Glad to see he was cheering up again, Haku lifted her head to kiss him again, the tip of her tongue poking and prodding his lip before he opened his mouth, letting her deepen the kiss as he laid down on top of her completely. Moaning softly, Haku slowly wrapped her legs around his waist before they broke apart a moment afterwards, her cheeks flushed and a tad breathless. Gaining a seductively coy smile, Haku gently nibbled on her bottom lip while bashfully batting her eyes at him. "Oh, no...Kitsune-kun's got me trapped. What am I going to do? I don't want to be eaten..."

"Hm...You've been reading those smutty Icha Icha books, haven't you?" Naruto asked rhetorically while Haku's cheeks flushed crimson as she glared off to the side, pouting for real that time; she hadn't counted on him figuring out her 'dirty little secret'. Laughing softly, he leaned his head down before she could react, getting a gasp of pleasure from her as he started sucking on her neck. Biting down on her bottom lip again, Haku closed her eyes with another soft moan as Naruto started to slowly and teasingly grind against her, her back arching slightly in euphoria. "Well, I guess I'll just have to teach you something those books don't have..."

"O-Oh?" Haku stuttered out, half out of anticipation, half out of pleasure as Naruto kept grinding against her. Seeing the mischievous smirk on his face, though, Haku became suspicious. Still smirking, he leaned down to teasingly nibble on her ear before whispering.

"A sense of humor..." Haku's eyes went wide just before he suddenly went up in smoke, having used Kawarimi to switch out with one of the pillows on the bed. Bolting upright as she tossed the pillow aside, Haku whipped around and glared at Naruto as he sat at the foot of the bed, grinning cheekily at her. Seeing the murderous look in her eyes, though, Naruto pinned his ears back nervously as he sensed danger, only to bolt from the bed a second later as Haku lunged for him and missed.

"GET BACK HERE AND LOVE ME, YOU FUZZY BASTARD!" Haku yelled as she gave chase...

"...Maybe I should just come back later..." Jiraiya mumbled quietly to himself as his hand hovered in the air in front of the door as if about to knock, uncertain of what exactly was going on inside, but he thought it would be best if he didn't get involved. Hearing a short scuffle, Jiraiya quirked an eyebrow, only to flinch slightly when something collided with the other side of the door. Hearing a feminine giggle after a moment of silence and then a pleasured moan, however, Jiraiya immediately went full pervert and tried listening in, but with the abuse the door had just undergone, it was in that moment when the trap went off.

For several blocks around the apartment, a high-pitched girlish scream of terror was heard as Jiraiya found out just how dangerous Naruto's trap-making skills were. The hard way...

xXxXxXx

"What do you want, lech?" Naruto growled irritably as he glared at the white-haired pervert, who was now sporting a good number of cuts all over his body from attempting to escape Naruto's trap. Still cupping his genitals after not only having a trio of kunai come within milimeters of neutering him, but also having been punted in the groin by Haku for interrupting them with his screaming, Jiraiya could only pitifully glare at Naruto from his spot on the couch. The couple in question stood across from him, both looking rather annoyed with him. Especially Haku. She looked like she wanted to finish the job Naruto's trap had failed to do...

"I-Ahem." Jiraiya tried to start, but his voice was still a couple octaves too high, clearing his throat in an effort to fix it. "I kind of wanted your help finding someone..."

"You interupted us for _that_?" Haku growled irritably before getting a look from Naruto. Sticking her tongue out at him with what both males present believed to be the world's angriest pout, she stomped off to the bedroom and slammed the door shut behind her. Sighing heavily, Naruto palmed his face.

"She sure seems fiesty today..." Jiraiya mumbled, only to look off to the side as Naruto peeked out at him from between his fingers. With a single crimson eye. Calming himself back down and resisting the urge to kick Jiraiya out via _kicking_ , Naruto sighed once again.

"Who is it and why is it so damn important?" The fox-teen grumbled around his hand, already knowing he was going to have to find some way of making things up to Haku later. She was most definitely angry. And very, _very_ sexually frustrated. As Jiraiya opened his mouth, however, Naruto held up his other hand to silence him as he rubbed his face slightly. "Short, sweet, and to the point...or I get Haku to come out here and ask the questions."

"SenjuTsunadeandsoshecanbenamedtheGodaimeHokageandpleasedon'tdothat!" Jiraiya blurted out as fast as possible, his voice going back up to a higher pitch as he feared the threatened fate of his manhood; his godson, he could handle. The girl? She scared him. Almost as much as Tsunade did. Kushina, as well. Staring at him flatly, Naruto stayed quiet as he waited for a slower and more intelligible response. Clearing his throat again as he tried to reclaim some of his masculinity, Jiraiya shifted uncomfortably on the couch under his godson's gaze, still protecting his genitals. "I wanted you to come help me find my old teammate, Tsunade, so that she can be made the Godaime Hokage. Okay?"

"...Seeing as you said you wanted my 'help', I'm guessing you were hoping I'd be able to sniff her out, so to speak. That or you wanted to train me some more along the way. No, definitely both of them, knowing you." Naruto summarized from what he had gathered, still looking quite non-plussed. "That means it's going to be a bitch and a half to find her. That means we're going to be traveling for a good little while. Please, tell me how close I am."

"Pretty damn close, to be entirely honest." Jiraiya responded casually with a shrug, quite impressed with the kid's deductive skills. The glare he got in return meant his godson still wasn't happy about the answer. Avoiding eye contact, Jiraiya knew he was walking on thin ice now. "Shutting up."

"I was being sarcastic when I said that last bit, lech." Naruto growled out quietly before sighing heavily once again; idly, he realized he had been doing that a lot recently. Shaking his head slightly, Naruto crossed his arms over his chest and bowed his head slightly as he closed his eyes. Thinking it over for a moment as his three tails continued to flick back and forth with aggravation, Naruto took a deep breath before slowly letting it out. "Haku is _not_ going to be happy about this..."

"YOU'RE DAMN FUCKING RIGHT ABOUT THAT ONE!" She yelled through the door from the bedroom, but didn't do anything else other than that. Wincing slightly, Naruto ran a hand over his head and along one of his ears before looking at Jiraiya almost sympathetically. He was just glad that it wasn't him that Haku was mad at more.

"Look...Can we leave tomorrow morning?" Naruto asked, only to hear something thud against a wall in the bedroom. Wincing again, he corrected himself. "Tomorrow...afternoon?"

"Uh...Y-Yeah...Sounds good..." Jiraiya muttered nervously as he stood up and started backing up towards the door, keeping his eyes locked on the bedroom door in the back; if the death of his manhood was going to come for him, he was going to look it in the eye. Before proudly running like a bitch from it. Grasping the handle, Jiraiya made sure to turn it fully before he finished what he needed to say. As fast as possible. "Makesuretopackforalongtrip!"

"Oh, _hell_ no!" Haku snarled as she came barreling down the hallway while Jiraiya bolted out the door and slammed the door shut behind him as he started running as fast as he could. Wrapping his arms around his girlfriend before she could chase Jiraiya down, Naruto immediately lifted her up so that her feet weren't able to touch the ground, her legs still kicking with her stride. Haku immediately started squirming in his arms, even as he carried her over to the couch and sat her down on it. "No! Don't you dare help that-Mm! Mmm..."

Deepening the kiss and slipping his tongue into her mouth, Naruto kept Haku pinned against the couch, waiting until she stopped struggling against him and started returning the kiss before lessening his grip on her. Moaning softly into the kiss, Haku broke free and slowly wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him on top of her. Wrapping her legs around his waist as best she could at the moment, Haku could only continue to moan into her beloved boyfriend's mouth as she fisted a hand in the fur on the back of his neck, lightly digging her nails into his back with the other. After a good bit of time, they finally broke apart for air, both left breathless and gasping for air.

"You are _such_ an asshole, Kitsune-kun..." Haku gasped out as she buried her face against his neck, her cheeks flushed red despite her smoldering ire. Smiling slightly, Naruto gently kissed the side of her head.

"I know. I'm sorry, Usagi-chan." He whispered softly before feeling her death grip on him weaken slightly as she started calming back down. Changing their positions so that he was sitting and Haku was sitting in his lap, straddling him, Naruto made her lean back before gently kissing her on the lips. Still pouting quite heavily, Haku glared at him, but it wasn't as bad as it had been just a few short minutes ago. Gently brushing his hand across her cheek, he gently tucked a few strands of her hair behind an ear. "You know how I am, though...I might not be a crying mess right now like I was earlier, but you said it yourself earlier; I need to keep going forward...I can't just sit here and expect everything to go back to normal on its own. I need to do _something_ , Haku."

"Then do me." She grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest stubbornly. Laughing quietly as he kissed her on the lips again, Naruto smiled at her lovingly, though a little sadly.

"I meant about the village, Haku." He whispered, his thoughts drifting back to the Sandaime's death for a moment. "Konoha is leaderless right now...If that doesn't get resolved soon, things are only going to get worse. Do you understand what I'm trying to say?"

"...Yeah." She mumbled softly as her pout went away, leaning against him again as she buried her face against his neck. Naruto grimaced a little remorsefully. He didn't want to sound like he was lecturing her or anything, even though it seemed like he was. "It doesn't mean I have to be happy about it, though...I almost lost you, Naruto..."

"That's not true and you know it." He whispered softly, finally getting to the bottom of Haku's suddenly extreme mood swings. She was scared. Soothingly rubbing her back as she wrapped her arms around his neck and shoulders again, Naruto could feel her shake slightly.

"I can't lose you..." She whispered quietly as she tried her best not to cry.

"And you're not going to. Ever. I promise." He whispered softly in return. Feeling a little more reassured by his promise, however menial it might have seemed to anyone else, Haku slowly pulled back before kissing him deeply, pouring all of her love for him into it just like she had with their first kiss six long months ago. Returning it whole heartedly, Naruto let one of his hands rest on her hip while the other held the small of her back. After half a minute had passed, they slowly broke the kiss, but their lips didn't part ways, both breathing a little heavily. Opening his eyes and staring directly into Haku's, Naruto could see the terror in them as he gently rubbed her back comfortingly. "I'll be back before you know it..."

"...Just shut up and make love to me, damn it." Haku mumbled quietly against his lips before her tongue darted back into his mouth. Figuring that he wasn't going to get a better response, Naruto returned the kiss while standing up from the couch, holding Haku against him by her rear as he carried her back to the bedroom...

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Gabadosuzan- Toad Blade Cut

A/N: I'm sure _someone_ is going to whine about how short the fight between Naruto and Gaara was, but...seriously, the majority of their fight took place before they started pulling out 'big guns', so to speak. And that was all in the previous chapter. So I don't want to hear anything about that. As for the post-invasion stuff that followed, after Haku started cheering him back up, I wanted to add in a bit of humor to lighten the mood again and shed a bit of light on something Naruto still retained from his younger days; his prankster side, as rarely as it shows anymore. The bit with Jiraiya...I'll be honest, I _was_ going to end it as Haku started chasing Naruto, but I couldn't think of how to start off the whole 'Tsunade Arc' afterwards. So, I killed two birds with one stone. At Jiraiya's expense. It also helped with building up a little more character development and some minor bonding with Naruto (if it could even be called that). Also, a bit insight into Haku and her continued personal struggles. As much as she might have overreacted with Jiraiya, it's mostly because she just wanted to keep Naruto close to her for a little while to help reassure herself that he was still there and all. Jiraiya, however, was interrupting that and started talking about taking him away from her for an undetermined length of time. Thus, he was first in line to fall victim to her fear-fueled wrath...

Anyways, before I keep rambling on, I'm going to cut myself off here. Like always, I hope everyone enjoyed the new chapter.


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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A Tale of Tails

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Chapter Fifteen

"Stupid ass perverted old bastard..." Naruto growled under his breath as he shut the door behind him, dropping his rucksack on the ground next to the bed before sitting at the edge of it. "Telling me to come up here and work on my chakra control. The fuck kind of training am I going to do in a hotel room worth anything?"

Hearing a knock at the door, though, Naruto looked at it suspiciously, his ears perked up and aimed towards the door to listen for anything out of place. Neither of them had ordered any kind of room service and Jiraiya had a key of his own, so why would he knock? Gripping one of his trench knives in his right hand, Naruto slowly got up from his spot and cautiously made his way to the door, keeping his bladed fist hidden behind his back just in case it turned out to be one of the hotel's staff.

As he turned the knob and cracked the door open, Naruto's eyes went wide in an instant for two reasons; he immediately caught wind of a scent eerily similar to Sasuke's and saw a single fully-matured Sharingan eye staring at him. Slamming the door shut instantly, Naruto lunged to the side while drawing his other trench knife just moments before a massive bandaged object smashed through the door. Bolting for the window, Naruto jumped to go through it, only to grab the drain pipe next to it as he smashed through the glass, swinging around and planting his feet against the wall. Opening the window that led back into the hallway just as he heard someone enter the room he'd vacated, Naruto slipped back inside and silently shut the window.

 _'This is fucking bad! What the hell is Uchiha fucking Itachi doing here?!'_ Naruto mentally ranted as he turned to start running, only for Itachi to step back out of the apartment, blocking his path. Stopping, Naruto tightened his grip on his trench knives as he growled quietly, baring his fangs with a slight snarl as he pinned his ears back. A moment later, a much taller man with strange blue skin came out of the apartment, the bandaged object that had smashed through the door braced on his shoulder casually.

"There's no mistaking it; it's the Kyuubi brat." The taller man, Hoshigaki Kisame, remarked before revealing his jagged shark-like teeth with a slight grin. "Maybe I should take one of his legs. Can't have him trying to run off all the time, you know?"

"...It's been a while..." Itachi began, only to turn around to face the other end of the hallway, his Sharingan eyes still blazing. "Sasuke..."

 _'The fuck are you doing here, Sasuke?!'_ Naruto mentally raged, gripping his trench knives even tighter as his tails flicked back and forth with nervous aggitation. _'Shit! The hell is going on here?!'_

"I've wanted to tell you for a long time...I've lived hating you...I've lived only to _kill_ you..." Sasuke snarled as Lightning chakra exploded into existence around his left hand with such intensity that it was starting to burn his skin in some spots on his left hand and forearm. "I have lived for this moment!"

"Chidori...?" Itachi mumbled under his breath, having not expected his little brother to learn such a technique as Sasuke charged towards him, destroying the wall beside him along the way. Not bothered in the slightest, Itachi almost casually side-stepped the attack, catching Sasuke's wrist in a vice grip. Gnashing his fangs, Naruto started forming handseals, only for Kisame to simply bring his sword down beside him. Eyes going wide, Naruto felt the chakra he'd built up for his technique...vanish.

"Too slow! My Samehada _eats_ chakra." Kisame growled out with a blood thirsty grin, drawing his sword back to him. "Now that that is over with, how about we make a choice? Should I take off one of your arms? Or should I go for a leg?"

 _'Fuck!'_ Naruto snarled in his mind, his eyes wide with panic as he tried jumping back, only the man's weapon was coming down too fast for him to dodge in time. That and he found himself bumping into someone behind him while a giant toad no bigger than himself wearing armored bracers appeared in front of him, blocking the bulky looking weapon with ease...

"You don't seem to know very much about me...I'm better at getting girls than they are at trying to get me. Even though I don't look like it, it's my specialty." Jiraiya commented with a smirk as Naruto stepped aside a little bit, the woman from earlier draped over the white haired man's shoulder, unconscious. That was when he thrust his free hand forward, his smirk turning into a broad, cocky grin. "I, Jiraiya, this epitome of manliness! I will fall for no woman's femine wiles! When you're someone like me, you only have to flash that sexiness to have women fall at your feet!"

"Now is _not_ a good time for your bullshit..." Naruto quietly hissed at the man, glaring at him out of the corner of his eye...

xXxXxXx

"You better start talking, you fucking perverted bastard!" Naruto raged as he grabbed Jiraiya by his collar and shoved the man against the wall, Maito Gai having already left with the catatonic Sasuke in tow. Jiraiya remained stoic, if not a tad cold, seeing the fear-induced rage in Naruto's blue eyes even though Itachi and Kisame had already fled the area. "Who the fuck are the Akatsuki and what does it have to do with me?! Why the hell do I have people of _Itachi's_ fucking caliber hunting me down?! Huh?!"

"Calm down before you cause a scene." Jiraiya remarked calmly as he gripped Naruto's wrists, squeezing just enough to force Naruto into letting go of his top. Jerking his hands out of Jiraiya's grasp, Naruto jabbed a clawed finger down the hallway, one of the walls utterly ruined by Sasuke's Chidori just a few minutes ago while another part of a different wall had a hole in it from where Itachi had slammed Sasuke against it, the nearby window and surrounding wall burned away by a strange black flame.

"A scene?! Are you fucking serious?! You're worried about me causing a fucking scene after _that_ bullshit?!" Naruto snapped furiously. Before he could continue, Jiraiya gained a menacing look in his eye.

"Will you shut up for a minute?!" He snarled back at Naruto, silencing the panicked fox-teen. Grabbing the boy's shoulder, Jiraiya formed a handseal before the pair vanished from the area via Shunshin. Coming to a stop just outside of town, Jiraiya didn't hesitate to shove Naruto back, making him stumble back and fall against the tall wooden fence along the side of the road, looking almost as pissed off as Naruto was. "Why the fuck do you think I left nine years ago?! I left to get more information on _them_! _THAT_ is what I was doing when I said I had to leave because of my work! So you can quit with the god damn attitude, alright?!"

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Naruto hissed from his spot on the ground, not even bothering to pick himself back up or even look at Jiraiya. "If you've been working so hard to protect me, then why am I still the last one to know anything?"

"..." Jiraiya stayed quiet for a moment, his anger waivering as he glared off to the side, not really knowing how to answer the question. Scoffing, Naruto forced himself to his feet and started walking away, his hands shoved in his pockets. "I didn't tell you because I was trying to stop them from ever getting the chance to come after you..."

"...Before they could get the chance, huh?" Naruto mumbled quietly as he paused for a moment. "Looks like you did a pretty good job of that, doesn't it? Come on...We've still got a job to do..."

 _'God damn it! Every time I open my mouth, I only make things worse...'_ Jiraiya mentally hissed, covering his face with his hands as he grit his teeth in frustration. Rubbing his face and running a hand over his head, Jiraiya took a deep breath to calm himself back down before sluggishly trailing after his wayward godson. He really needed to pay closer attention to his choice of words around the kid...

xXxXxXx

"Yoo! Sweet costume, man!" One of the townsfolk praised as he walked by them in the heavily crowded streets, left to wander by himself shortly after reaching the town. Not even acknowledging that he'd heard the man, Naruto grimaced slightly, his hands stuffed in his pockets and his ears pinned back. He couldn't care less about the festival going on; it was hell on his sense of smell and hearing. Stopping at one of the vendors, he ordered some grilled squid before continuing on with his aimless walking, nibbling at the treat he'd purchased.

It'd been a couple days since encountering Itachi and he was still pissed at Jiraiya for keeping so many secrets from him. He was tired of being lied to and being left in the dark. He was tired of having to deal with his godfather's bullshit all the time. He just wanted to go back to his tiny little apartment, pet Ren, and curl up in bed with Haku in his arms. As much as the villagers hated him, Naruto had enjoyed a quiet life in Konoha. Especially after meeting Haku, the one good thing he could honestly say had happened in his life. He hated how Jiraiya still hadn't changed after so many years. He was still the perverted prick he'd always been. He said that he'd be training him along the way, but so far, they hadn't done anything of the sort. Nothing of any real note, at least...

"Stupid ass water balloon..." Naruto mumbled quietly as he reached into his equipment pouch and pulled out one of the water balloons Jiraiya had given him minutes after reaching the town. He'd given him a quick run-down of what he needed to do, but nothing else. Holding it in his hand, Naruto glared at the offensive object, focusing his chakra as he'd been told. Feeling the water start spinning inside of it, but nothing else, he grimaced a little bit. It didn't matter which way he rotated it, the balloon refused to pop. Stuffing it back in his equipment pouch, he stuffed his hands back in his pockets before heading towards the edge of town, wanting to get away from the festival's bustling crowded streets.

He knew the man was off at some bar or something, drinking and flirting with women...instead of doing what they actually needed to do. The man had grown too complacent in his time away from Konoha. He might have gone through a lot of harsh experiences in life, but he was too carefree. It was now becoming his biggest issue with Jiraiya, his supposed godfather. How could he be so laidback about everything? Konoha was in need of a new Hokage and they were currently out searching for that person. As dire as it was, why would he waste time drinking himself stupid almost every day instead of actually looking for clues or leads as to where Tsunade might be or where she's going?

Once he reached the top of the stairs that went up to the edge of the crater-like valley the town was in, Naruto wandered a little further into the thinly wooded forest that encircled the town's outskirts. Subconsciously fingering the small fuuinjutsu charm hanging from his belt loop in front of his right hip, Naruto grimaced slightly, thinking about the situation he'd been forced into in the last town. The charm was a tracker of Jiraiya's making, looking like a small wooden pentagon not too much bigger than his thumbnail with the kanji for Path etched into its surface, the back of it bearing a thumbnail-sized seal array that actually tracked Naruto's location. It hung from a simple braided cord of brown leather that was no longer than his middle finger.

After finding a quiet spot to keep practicing the first step of the Rasengan, Naruto sat down with the water balloon in his hands, trying various ways to pop the balloon. He was thankful for the tracker, but at the same time, he shouldn't need it. Jiraiya should be with him at all times if the situation was that dangerous. From what he'd managed to coax out of the man, Akatsuki was comprised of a group of S-class ninja from all across the Elemental Countries. Those known so far were Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame, but Naruto suspected that Jiraiya knew of several others. Apparently Orochimaru had once been one of them, something that always set him on edge...

 _POP-Splash!_

"Agh! Damn it!" Naruto growled out as he shook his soaked hand, trying to get rid of...the water. "Wait...I popped it. I actually fucking popped it!"

Taking out the storage scroll filled with a number of extra water balloons, Naruto wanted to make sure it hadn't been a fluke and unsealed another one. At first, it just did the same thing as always, but as he started getting frustrated with it, Naruto stopped caring about which direction the water spun, accidentally creating several different currents at the same time. After a moment, the balloon suddenly looked like it swelled before exploding, sending water in all directions. Sighing, Naruto was excited that he'd managed to finish the first step already, but...he was slowly starting to get tired of getting wet every time. Not only that, but he intended to keep practicing the first step as much as he could. He needed to make sure he had it down to an artform before advancing to the next step...which involved finding Jiraiya first in order to find out what that was.

He could wait a little while...

"Kage Bunshin!" Naruto called out while forming a single handseal, causing four other clones to pop into existence. Immediately tossing a water balloon to each of them, they all sat down in a circle with a pile of extra water balloons in the middle of them. Picking up one for himself, Naruto stared at it for a moment, idly wondering what Haku was up to while he was gone. He hoped she wasn't having any problems with her nightmares. They'd died off again, but he hadn't been around for a few days already and that was usually around the time they'd start bothering her. Sighing again, Naruto shook his head to clear his mind before focusing his chakra into the water balloon again...

xXxXxXx

"Ugh...I feel so miserable..." Haku whined quietly as she slumped forward against the table, resting her head in her folded arms; she was exhausted, having been kept up all night with more nightmares. Laughing quietly, Sakura smiled at how the older girl was acting, the pair having gone to a local tea shop for a light lunch. "I wish Kitsune-kun was here..."

"Kitsune-kun?" Sakura mumbled quietly before looking at Haku suspiciously. "You mean Naruto? You know he doesn't like being called that, right?"

"Oh, please...I've been living with him for six months now." Haku grumbled at first as she sat up, only to dismissively wave off Sakura's words. "He just doesn't like it when people use it as an insult or a derogatory term. That's all. Either that or I'm just a special exception..."

"W-Wait, you mean...You two have been roommates for the past six months?!" Sakura gasped in shock, getting a flat stare from Haku. "W-Why?! How-?!"

"Yeeaah...How could you have not realized that by now?" Haku mumbled quietly, cutting the pinkette off as she wondered if she should start teaching Sakura how to be more observant. "Seriously, Sakura. He's my boyfriend. Of course I live with him..."

"B-Boyfriend?!" Sakura blurted out a little louder than before, Haku's flat stare only growing a little more annoyed. Yeah, the girl needed to be a little more perceptive. And quieter, too. Maybe putting her through some of the basics for Muon Satsujin would fix that... "Since when?!"

"Since I came here! Now let it go!" Haku growled out quietly through gnashed teeth, blushing with indignant embarrassment as other people in the tea shop started staring at them. Thankful for her top's high collar, Haku tucked her chin down while pointlessly trying to pull it up a little higher. "You're making a scene..."

"Huh? O-Oh...My bad..." Sakura stuttered out quietly while ducking her own head down a little bit, grinning sheepishly as she scratched her cheek lightly. Haku could only glower at Sakura, wondering what made the girl so loud all the time...

xXxXxXx

As the days went by, Naruto kept practicing the first step until he was down to the last two water balloons. Having decided that he had trained in the Rasengan's first stage for long enough, he waited until Jiraiya was nice and hung over from a night of heavy drinking before rudely waking him up with one the water balloons, popping it over his head. After waking the man and demonstrating that he had completed the first step, Jiraiya showed him the second step and gave him a new supply of training 'gear'; rubber balls.

And that's where he started to stagnate a little bit, a week and a half having passed since he had started working on stage two...

"Argh! Stupid ball!" Naruto snarled with frustration before chucking the ball at the nearest tree, only for it to predictably bounce back at him. Catching it in his hand, Naruto squeezed it as much as he could, trying to just pop it as it was, but it was too resilient. Sighing after a moment, he simply plopped down on the ground, half-heartedly pouting as he glared at the offensive little object in his hand. He was starting to hate Jiraiya's training methods. He'd only give him the bare minimum information about how to do it before just disappearing again, saying that if he couldn't manage on his own, he had no worth as a shinobi. Gnashing his teeth as he recalled Jiraiya's words, Naruto glared angrily at the ball in his hand before pouring his chakra into it.

Ignoring the burning pain and tingling numbness in his right hand from his over-taxed tenketsu, Naruto endured, concentrating on the rubber ball. So engulfed by his anger for the white haired idiot that was his godfather, Naruto actually got kind of startled when the ball suddenly exploded into dozens of tiny pieces, one of them smacking him in the face and knocking him off balance with a brief startled cry, falling over in the process. Sitting up as he started breathing heavily, Naruto looked down at his hand with a grin, ignoring the slight twitch in his fingers and the nearly invisible chakra burns on his palm.

"I'll show you, Jiraiya..." Naruto mumbled under his breath before retrieving another rubber ball from the storage scroll he kept them in, leaving a pile of them out for more training. Holding it in his left hand this time, Naruto closed his eyes and concentrated, filling the hollow orb with the swirling currents of his chakra, popping it finally after almost a couple minutes of concentration. Picking up another, Naruto smirked slightly. "I've been on my own for a long time now, you old pervert. _Never_ underestimate me..."

Later that day, Jiraiya had started getting worried about Naruto when he came back to their hotel room late into the night to find the fox-teen missing still. After checking the seal-based tracking technique he had tagged Naruto with, Jiraiya was relieved to know that he was still in the same place he'd left him earlier that morning. It was a short journey to the teen's location, only to come to a stop as he drew close...

"Geez...The brat's been busting ass, I see." Jiraiya mumbled quietly to himself as he crouched down, looking a little more closely at the shredded remains of what he guessed to be nearly a couple dozen of the rubber balls he'd left with Naruto. That's when he was suddenly pelted in the face with one of them by Naruto, knocking him on his ass. "Ow! You stupid kid! Is that any way to treat your elders?!"

"Only if those elders fucking deserve it!" Naruto snapped back with a slightly narrowed gaze, his eyes burning with the cold fire of raw determination, leaning back against a tree from his spot on the ground, too tired to get up. Seeing just how much will power the boy really had, Jiraiya was honestly a little surprised and impressed. That's when Naruto gained a small smirk, showing his fangs a little as he grinned a fox's grin. Holding a ball in either hand, Naruto didn't break eye contact with the man as he channeled what little chakra he could still use before passing out. Jiraiya was confused at first, only for his eyes to widen when both rubber balls suddenly exploded, releasing twin whirlwinds of chakra, kicking up a decent little gust of wind from the force.

"You...You already managed to dual-wield them in their beginning stages?!" Jiraiya gaped in shock...only to notice how Naruto had passed out where he was, a small smirk of confidence on his face as he slumbered. Sighing slightly, Jiraiya couldn't help shaking his head with a quiet laugh, standing back up after a moment. Walking over, he picked Naruto up with the three-tailed furry teenaged genin on his back, smiling with a touch of pride. "Gotta say, I'm impressed, kid...You deserve a bit of a break, I guess."

xXxXxXx

"Ugh...Oh, god damn it..." Naruto groaned quietly, only to realize where he was when he opened his eyes to find him in a sewer-like place. Sitting up, Naruto sighed heavily before standing up and shuffling through the ankle-deep water until he reached the massive chamber that the Kyuubi no Kitsune resided in. Being as tired as he was, Naruto was irritable and not in the mood to deal with the giant fox at the moment. "What do you want this time? Want to belittle me some more? Or call me a 'worthless excuse for a fox' again? Maybe something new? How about 'Shittiest Kyuubi Wanna-Be Ever'? Eh?"

 **"...Why haven't you tried using my chakra since your fight with Shukaku's container?"** Kurama growled out quietly as he got straight to the point, but he didn't sound the slightest bit angry. For once. More like...he was confused, incredibly so. Naruto was actually a little speechless for a moment and glanced off to the side, suddenly feeling a little guilty for getting so mouthy. Shuffling closer to the cage until the beast came into full view, Naruto sighed and sat down, leaning back with one arm propping him up. The Kyuubi was lying down on the other side of the giant gate, staring at Naruto with slightly narrowed eyes, confusion and suspicioun clearly visible in its crimson irises. **"You'd refill your chakra stores and instantly heal your wounds, letting you continue your training. So, why don't you?"**

"And deal with you bitching and moaning the whole time? Nah, I'm good." Naruto grunted out rather casually before staring at his free right hand. "Sure, using your chakra gives me a huge power boost, but every time I do, I get one step closer to gaining another tail. I get one step closer to drawing more hatred from the villagers. One step closer to my potential public execution for just existing... _That_ is why I don't use your power. Besides, Jiraiya was kind of right, as much as it pisses me off; if I can't do something myself, what right do I have to be called a proud shinobi of Konoha when I'm constantly relying on someone else's power to get things done?"

Kurama stayed quiet as he stared at the boy he was sealed within. Not even that red haired girl he had been sealed inside of prior to Naruto had been so self-reliant. Maybe just as stubborn and foul-tempered, but not so independent. While she hadn't used his chakra all the time, she had always been rather strict about it whenever she did, never taking 'no' for an answer. With how her seal had worked, it had been difficult for him to not give in; who wouldn't when they're not just pinned, but staked against a ball of lava bigger than themself? Granted, it didn't really hurt since it wasn't actually real, but it was still incredibly uncomfortable and he couldn't even move. Hell, it was a fight just to talk half the time.

To think, though, that the boy in front of him was her son...

"The biggest reason of all, though..." Naruto began before clenching his hand into a fist, turning his icy blue eyes on the Kyuubi's menacing scarlet eyes. "You obviously don't like me and to be entirely honest, I kind of don't like you either. You clearly don't want me using your chakra, accusing me of only wanting your power when it's the furthest thing from what I actually want. You refuse to even hold a conversation with me without throwing in some kind of insult or taunt at me. I get it; you don't want to be friends. I can live with that. Just don't give me more shit to deal with. It's bad enough damn near everyone in Konoha calls me those same names you keep slinging at me. I don't need _YOU_ of all people calling me them, too..."

 **"..."** Staying silent, Kurama shifted ever so slightly, keeping his expression unreadable as he stared at Naruto for a little while longer. Standing up with a quiet growling sigh, Kurama turned away from the boy as he went deeper into the darkness of his cage. **"Leave..."**

"Hmph...No insults this time? What a shocker..." Naruto grumbled under his breath as he stood up as well, walking towards the exit with his hands stuffed in his pockets, his three tails flicking with annoyance. "Should have figured you wouldn't talk...Again..."

xXxXxXx

"...You're an ass, you know that?" Naruto growled out a handful of paces behind Jiraiya as he focused on the balloon in his hand, only for it to explode in a hurricane of chakra and wind. The third stage was more aggravating than he could have imagined. He had worked hard on the first two stages to make them second nature, but now it was starting to screw him over, the third step being containment, control. Something he wasn't all that good at... "Fuck!"

"Oh, relax! It's not like you have to get it down by the time we get to Tanzaku Gai or anything." Jiraiya remarked with a laugh, only getting Naruto to glare at him heatedly. Wincing slightly, Jiraiya figured it might be a smart idea to _stop_ antagonizing the boy. Despite his excitement from completing the second stage just last night, Naruto had woken up in a rather sour mood before taking it out on Jiraiya, kicking him awake that morning. He didn't know what it was that had ruffled the boy's fur, but it was obvious to him that he should stop poking fun at Naruto until he at least calmed back down. Broken from his thoughts by another bursting balloon, Jiraiya glanced back at Naruto to find him knocked flat on his back, having put too much chakra into the technique because of his rising temper. "Geez...Just take it easy for a bit, kid. We're almost there, anyways."

"Gonna tell me everything this time?" Naruto barked out in return as he started picking himself up off the ground, getting only silence from Jiraiya as the white-haired man looked away for a moment. He hadn't forgotten about his little run-in with Itachi, not for a single moment. Until he got his questions answered, he wouldn't let go of it. "That's what I thought..."

Staying silent this time, Jiraiya simply started walking again, his godson and apprentice following behind him as he kept trying to perform the third step to the Rasengan technique...

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

A/N: And just like that, another chapter is done! I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, like always, and I hope you all keep reading as it's updated.


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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A Tale of Tails

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Chapter Sixteen

"It's the same for Sarutobi. He was too old to keep living in his dreams..." Tsunade continued on, making Jiraiya scowl as he became disappointed in his old teammate's views on the world. Even Shizune wasn't pleased with her words, but refused to speak up. Sitting beside Jiraiya, Naruto quietly finished picking at his food, his ears pinned back and his eyes closed. "The position of Hokage is a shit job. Only an idiot would want that hat."

"You...bitch!" Naruto snarled slowly and viciously, slamming his hand down on the table as he did. Instantly, a swirling burst of chakra exploded from his palm on contact, engraving a spiral-like pattern into the wooden surface from the now-reflexive use of the Rasengan's second-stage form. Everything on the table had been sent flying by the chakra burst while the three other people seated at it were startled out of their little staring contest. Snarling viciously, Naruto glared at Tsunade with burning scarlet eyes as his fingers tensed, digging his claws into the table. "How...dare you? The Old Man was your sensei...He's the only reason I'm even still alive...and you're just going to shit on his good name?! On everything he lived for?!"

"I think you should keep your little pet student on a tighter leash, Jiraiya..." Tsunade mumbled quietly around her sake dish, holding eye contact with Naruto. His pupils contracted into razor slits at her remark as he gnashed his fangs more tightly, his snarl worsening.

"The Yondaime gave his life to protect the entire village. From the sounds of it, you think it would have been better if he just let the Kyuubi destroy everything, don't you? You trying to say that you'd have just let it kill everyone in the village?! Huh?!" Naruto snapped furiously, not even paying attention to how Jiraiya was trying to calm him down, some of the other patrons in the bar glancing over at them. He was too pissed off to care. "You trying to say that Old Man Sarutobi should have just let Orochimaru kill everyone in the village, too?! You'd let thousands of innocent people just fucking die?! Because you're too fucking scared to die yourself?!"

"Sorry, Jiraiya...You're losing another student." Tsunade growled out quietly before suddenly standing up and slamming her fist into Naruto's face with a left hook. The power was just enough to send Naruto rocketing to the side, smashing through the wall beside them. Standing from the booth as she cracked her knuckles, Tsunade went to check on the boy, wondering if she had accidentally killed him or not. Finding the fox-teen's unconscious form on the ground amongst the rubble, Tsunade sneered down at him. "For someone that talks so much shit, you can't take a hit..."

"For someone known for their inhuman strength, you can't hit worth a damn." Naruto suddenly growled from behind her, her eyes going wide as the fox-teen in front of her went up in smoke. Spinning around, Tsunade backhanded Naruto across the face, only for him to explode into a thick mist that filled the area around them. "You like it? I used a bit of my downtime to mix two different techniques together. It's still in its prototype stage, but I call it a Kiri Bunshin."

"You think a little fog is going to save you, brat?" Tsunade growled out, only to let out a brief cry of pain as a fist drove itself into her right side unexpectedly, lightly cracking one of her ribs, only for Naruto to spin in place and drive his right elbow into the left side of her neck, knocking her to the ground as the short-lived mist started fading away only ten seconds after it had formed. As Tsunade went up in smoke, a Kage Bunshin, Naruto slowly turned his head to look further down the alley way, holding the stance he'd taken when he hit her in the neck; left fist tucked down by his hip while his right arm was bent and held at an angle, his elbow in the same spot it'd been when he hit her while his forearm was angled up with a knife-hand, palm down. Cracking her neck, Tsunade smirked smugly at him. "You really want to go, brat? I'll be sure to beat some respect into your head, you dumb fox..."

"Uh, Ts-Tsunade-hime...I don't think you should have said that..." Jiraiya quietly remarked from the hole in the wall, having just returned from going to pay off the bar owner for the damage to keep the man from calling the authorities; they couldn't do shit to them, but it was the smarter move in the end. Having just arrived to hear her words, he also felt the need to warn her that she shouldn't underestimate him as much as she was, but if he said that, she just might accidentally kill Naruto. A split second later, however, Naruto's snarl vanished as he went deathly calm, simply staring at Tsunade with half-lidded blood red eyes. Relaxing his stance, Naruto tilted his head to the side slightly, only to suddenly vanish from his spot, catching Tsunade off guard with how fast he was.

Blurring past her in a low crouch at high speeds, Naruto grabbed her ankle while spinning in place, yanking her leg out from under her. Smashing her face against the ground as she was yanked off her feet, Tsunade was too stunned from the unexpected attack to react before getting thrown into the wall beside them. Standing amongst the dust cloud kicked up by the impact, Naruto's instincts kicked in at the last second, but he wasn't fast enough, getting punched in the face hard enough to get smashed into the opposite wall with twice as much power as what he'd used against Tsunade.

"You cocky little shit...You think you won just because you got a couple hits in when I'm already drunk?" Tsunade growled out, only to be slammed back into the wall by an explosive gust of wind, the dust cloud cleared away instantly. Still propped up against the wall, Naruto glared at the woman furiously, his right hand held out in front of him from using Reppuushou and his lip bleeding from the punch he'd taken. Across from him, Tsunade was suddenly rooted in place, shivering in fear as she fixated on the blood leaking from Naruto's lip.

"Tch...So that's why there was so much of his blood back near the castle ruins..." Naruto mumbled under his breath as he pushed away from the wall, his eyes reverting back to blue as he blinked, wiping the blood from his lip. Flicking his hand, Naruto ignored Tsunade's flinch as a couple vermillion drops splashed her in the face, his lip already starting to heal. Frozen with terror, Tsunade didn't move as Naruto stared at her. "Hemophobia...Looks like you're all bark and no bite. Fucking bitch..."

"Naruto..." Jiraiya mumbled cautioningly, but Naruto simply threw him a glare in return, shoving his hands in his pockets as he started walking away.

"Now I'm glad she declined...She'd make a worthless Hokage..." He growled out over his shoulder as he left. Staring at Naruto's retreating back with an unreadable expression, Jiraiya couldn't help feeling like Naruto was right in some ways. Tsunade had changed a lot since they'd last seen each other...and it wasn't in a good way...

xXxXxXx

"What's that kid's problem?" Tsunade growled out irritably as she took a sip of her sake, having been invited for a few drinks by Jiraiya after calming down from their little back-alley brawl. Jiraiya paused before he could take a drink of his sake, staring at Tsunade out of the corner of his eye.

"...Are you already too drunk not to notice? Didn't you see him?" Jiraiya mumbled before finally taking a sip of his alcohol. "He's a humanoid fox, Tsunade. Now, factor in his burden and what happened to Konoha seventeen years ago..."

"...It was that bad, huh?" Tsunade mumbled quietly as she stared down at the bar counter blankly, only for her expression to twist itself into one of confusion and disbelief. "And yet he's still got such a hard on for them? What's up with that?"

"...From what Sarutobi told me a long time ago, Naruto used to dream about becoming the Hokage one day." Jiraiya answered softly, frowning slightly as he wished he'd been around to see it himself back then. "That all changed after what Orochimaru did to him..."

"Orochimaru?" Tsunade asked in surprise, looking at her old teammate with wide eyes. "He did that to the boy?"

"Yeah. He also left him in almost total isolation for close to two years afterwards." Jiraiya continued before downing the rest of his sake in one go, only to order another bottle. "It broke him back then. Naruto hasn't been the same since then, but his love for Konoha never changed. If anything, their hatred keeps him strong. No matter what they try to do to him, he's always willing to give everything he has to protect that village. He gave up on his dream, though, from what I heard...He no longer wants to be Hokage, thinking it'll never happen because of everyone's hatred. It gets to him a lot. Their hatred, I mean..."

"I'm surprised he hasn't tried killing himself yet." Tsunade remarked offhandedly, not even thinking about what she said. That is, until Jiraiya practically slammed his dish down on the counter, glaring down at it while Tsunade flinched and stared at him.

"He _did_ try...Several times." The Toad Sage whispered quietly, though harshly, shocking Tsunade with the information. "It was only because of Sarutobi that he never succeeded...That's why Naruto hates you, you know. Sarutobi was the first person in the entire village to treat him as if he was still human...and there you go, like Naruto had said, _shitting_ on everything our sensei lived and fought for. What he _died_ for. Everything he taught us back then...Maybe Naruto's right. Maybe you _would_ make a worthless Hokage...Whatever it is that Orochimaru promised you, I suggest you turn him down because if you betray Konoha...I'll kill you myself."

"J-Jiraiya..." Tsunade stuttered slightly, watching as Jiraiya simply stood up from his seat and started walking away, sake bottle in hand...

On the outskirts of town, Naruto was busy distracting himself with his training, trying to get the Rasengan to form fully. As he attempted to form a shell around the whirlwind of chakra currents in his hand, however, his concentration slipped, causing the entire thing to detonate. Knocked back by the technique's explosive cancelation, Naruto simply laid there, glaring up at the night sky as his chest heaved with his labored breathing. For once, his temper wasn't proving helpful with his training like it usually did...

Everything about that old bat just pissed him off. It reminded him too much of how he used to be, back when everything was still fresh. Gently holding his left wrist, Naruto grimaced slightly as he lightly ran his thumb over the fading scars on the underside of his wrist. The last time he had tried killing himself, Hiruzen had come to visit him and had just barely made it in time to save his life. When he woke up in the hospital the next day, the Old Man had been so angry with him. He could still remember what he'd said about suicide. About how trying to kill himself was cowardly. It was easy to die. It was hard to live. Hiruzen had attacked his pride that day, what little he still had. Despite him still wanting to die, Naruto had given up on trying to kill himself, not wanting to die on his knees. He wouldn't live on his knees, either, which ultimately turned him into the asshole he became known for being.

At the same time, though, if he was going to die, he was going to die on his feet, fighting for what he believed in. Now that he had Haku, though, he was going to keep fighting no matter what. Even his last breath would become a weapon for him to use against his enemies...

Tsunade, however, was no different than how he used to be when he was younger, back when he had lost himself for a second time after Jiraiya left him. She was no different than a child throwing a tantrum because they couldn't get what they wanted. She would rather wallow in her self-pity and despair instead of trying to pick herself up off the ground and keep going. To him, she was _worse_ than he'd ever been. Even after hearing about her past from Shizune earlier, Naruto could only feel even more contempt for Tsunade than he had before. She was stuck in the past, thinking of only what _had_ been. Just like he used to be, always remembering what it felt like to have bare skin, what it was like to not have a fox tail or fox ears, what it was like to not look like a humanoid version of the Kyuubi, what it was like to still be _human_...

Closing his eyes, Naruto simply laid there, holding his wrist as his temper finally waned, leaving him in a state of solemn serenity. Focusing his chakra into his left hand, Naruto didn't think about anything other than the calm that had washed over his mind and heart despite the chaotic maelstrom of emotions he felt. As the seconds ticked by and not feeling the chakra detonate, Naruto opened his eyes to find a fully formed Rasengan resting in the palm of his hand. Smirking humorlessly, Naruto let go of his wrist before holding his left hand out to the side, only to slam the orb of chakra into the ground. Instantly, a foot-wide crater was drilled into the packed soil with explosive force, kicking up a cloud of aerated dirt and pulverized debris into the air around him.

So that was the trick. In a way, he only had to 'calm' the 'storm' of chakra without weakening it. Once it was calm, once it was focused, it became whole. It became even more powerful...

"Pretty sure I broke someone's record just now, but I couldn't care less..." Naruto mumbled quietly to himself as he stood up, the dust cloud settling back down. Staring at the smooth and perfect hemispherical crater he'd made, Naruto sighed quietly before flexing his hands, which were still numb and tingly from his relentless efforts to learn the Rasengan, his palms still pained with chakra burns. Forming a handful of Kage Bunshin, Naruto shared a look with his clones as their eyes collectively burned with the cold fire of his determination. "Let's get started, boys. We've got a lot of work to do still."

"Hai..." His four clones chorused quietly before they all sat down with their legs crossed as comfortably as they could manage with their hands on their knees, palms up. Closing their eyes, they all started focusing their chakra. They made sure to space themselves out enough so that if they messed up and a Rasengan 'popped', they wouldn't mess each other up. Even if one dispelled from it, Naruto would only have to make another to take its place, allowing him and the other clones to avoid making the same mistake the previous clone had. He was grateful for the Shadow Clone technique's ability that allowed him to learn anything a clone did, essentially multiplying his progress in anything he trained in.

Sure, he could exploit it and abuse it very easily by summoning up a massive amount of clones, but it made it difficult to sift through so many residual memories, regardless of how similar most of them might be. With only a handful or a dozen clones, however, it made it so much easier for him to adapt his training methods, creating 'quality' over 'quantity'. On the other hand, though, he refused to use it as a crutch, wanting to learn how to do it himself first before resorting to training with his clones; like he'd done with each step for the Rasengan, like he'd done with the techniques Jiraiya had given him during the Chuunin Exams. He refused to let himself get like Sasuke, resorting to his Sharingan all the time to do things. He only used his clones to train when he needed to better refine something such as his taijutsu skills or ninjutsu techniques.

 _'You don't know it yet, Tsunade, but you already lost the bet.'_ Naruto mused as he opened his eyes to stare at the complete Rasengan resting in his right hand. Shizune had informed him of a bet Tsunade wanted to make with him. He had a week to finish learning the Rasengan. If he won, she would give him her necklace, which was apparently extremely valuable. If she won, however, all of the money he had on him would go to her. In only one night, he had won the bet, but he wasn't about to go running off to brag about it. He didn't even care about the terms and conditions for the bet.

No, he was going to get his revenge for her careless words earlier that night. How dare she underestimate him like that?! She was going to learn just how vindictive he could really be...

xXxXxXx

 **"Three days of no rest, no food, no water..."** Naruto slowly opened his eyes as he stared up at the ceiling of the corridor, ignoring the shallow water he was lying in; despite the liquid, he was bone dry, like always. **"It took three days for you to finally run out of chakra without my help."**

"Just get to the point..." Naruto grumbled quietly while getting up, slowly shuffling along until he reached the Kyuubi's cage. His eyes were half-lidded with disinterest, staring up at the giant fox with mild irritation as he shoved his hands in his pockets, his ears perpetually pinned back like always. "I'm kind of busy. What do you want?"

 **"Insignificant little gnat! Here I am, trying to compliment you on something and you have the nerve to disrespect me?!"** Kurama snarled, slamming his shoulder into the cage with a snarling glare. Naruto didn't react in the slightest, having grown used to the Kyuubi's tantrums; among other things, their temper was about the same. A ticking time bomb set on a hair trigger. **"What are you even trying to prove! That you're not the pathetic little vermin they all think you to be?!"**

"Hmph...That's rich, coming from someone trapped in a cage." Naruto retorted with a slight scoff, crossing his arms over his chest as he maintained the same look on his face. Hearing the Kyuubi roar with anger, Naruto only closed his eyes with a sigh before looking back up at it with a sharper gaze, his eyes narrowed. "If this is all you brought me here for, I'm leaving. I already told you that I'm tired of your bullshit."

 **"Then tell me why!"** Kurama snapped, glaring down at Naruto. Things were quiet for a few moments as they stared at each other, the Kyuubi breathing a little heavily from getting so worked up. Calming back down, Kurama held his glare as he leaned his head down, wanting to see Naruto more closely. **"Tell me why you care so much? If not for my power, what then? What reason could you possibly have for wanting to 'be my friend', as you keep claiming?!"**

"Hah..." Sighing audibly, Naruto bowed his head before lowering his arms, stuffing his hands back in his pockets. Shaking his head slightly, he turned around and started walking away. "If you haven't figured it out yet, then you need to take a close look at yourself again. Maybe being in this dreary dungeon for so long has made you forget your own reflection..."

 **"Grrr! Stop speaking in riddles!"** Kurama snapped, having never been a particularly 'bright' being, but he was by no means 'stupid'. He just wasn't all that much for philosophical thinking or metaphors. Sarcastic, he may be, but a thinker, he was not. **"Just tell me, you insufferable little bastard!"**

"Keep thinking about it, bud. You'll figure it out eventually..." Naruto remarked, lazily waving over his shoulder as he stepped out of the chamber, his image vanishing from the realm moments before Kurama roared in outrage, the shallow water rippling from the force of his howl...

Opening his eyes in the real world, Naruto didn't move from his spot, still somewhat curled up amongst the exposed roots of a tree. The tree itself, however, was no more than a stump now, just like the others in the area. It'd been six days since they'd found Tsunade. Six days since their little brawl. Six days since he'd figured out how to fully form the Rasengan. Arms and legs shaking from weakness and exhaustion, Naruto slowly forced himself to stand before shambling over to the nearby stream. Dropping to his knees, Naruto leaned down and dipped his muzzle-like jaw into the cool, clean waters, forcing himself to drink slowly so as not to mess himself up, health-wise.

His kidneys had nearly shut down on him once before and he wasn't going to deal with that again. It had been his first 'attempt' to kill himself, despite it being unintentional. He'd been so messed up in the head at the time that he had stopped eating, stopped drinking. He had stopped taking care of himself because he had stopped caring in general. The only reason he'd ended up letting himself go so much over the past few days was because of his bullheaded stubbornness. He wanted to get the Rasengan down to the point that it was second nature for him. He wanted to be able to form it in either hand without delay or even both at the same time. So far, he was ambidextrous with it, but dual-wielding them was still just out of his reach.

If it hadn't been for the fact that he'd passed out during a short break to catch his breath, Naruto would have kept going. Thankfully, he had. It snapped him out of his near-berserk training regimen and reminded him that he needed to stop, at least long enough to eat and drink and rest. At least in Konoha, he knew he would never let himself get so bad, knowing it would worry Haku if she found out. Outside of the village, away from her, he'd let himself go too much. All because of his anger towards Tsunade...

 _'Calm the storm, Naruto. Focus it.'_ He thought to himself as he sat up, a little breathless as water dripped from his jaw. Over the past few days, he had taken his little self-made lesson from the Rasengan and turned it into a life lesson, a mantra for himself. Concentration, power, control. It had been helping him deal with his temper, his 'short fuse' having only grown shorter and shorter as the days passed since leaving Konoha. It was the main reason why he'd become so angry with Jiraiya since they left Konoha, why he got into that fight with Tsunade, why he had been pushing himself so hard in his training the past couple weeks.

While he might have been in the right and had good reason each time, Naruto knew that he couldn't keep letting the 'storm' run rampant. When Jiraiya taught him the first step, it gave Naruto a focal point for his temper, causing him to 'concentrate' it; first step, concentration. When he started working on the second step, his anger, now concentrated, grew stronger and chaotic; second step, power. When he started learning the third step, he struggled. As skilled as he was, he'd always struggled with self-control, with restraining himself. It's what caused the fight between him and Tsunade. When he'd figured out how to do the third step, he was still just as pissed off as before, but he'd calmed his mind, he'd calmed the 'storm'; third step, control.

Pulling out one of the rations he always carried with him, Naruto slowly nibbled at it, knowing better than to scarf it down; it'd only make his malnourished condition worse. Now that he'd calmed down, Naruto couldn't help wondering why Tsunade was giving him a week for their 'bet'. It made him suspicious. From what Jiraiya had told him about her, Tsunade was always moving around, never staying in one spot for too long. If that were so, she would have only given him a couple days and then continued on her way; regardless of the fact that she would have still lost the bet. Then there was the question as to what Orochimaru was doing in the town, his blood back at the destroyed castle giving away his presence. He knew the Sandaime had ruined his arms somehow, making it impossible for Orochimaru to use any of his ninjutsu techniques...

 _'She's considered the best medic-nin in the Elemental Countries...Could he be trying to talk her into healing his arms?'_ Naruto mused momentarily, his eyes narrowing with suspicioun. He didn't know the details of Sarutobi's fight with Orochimaru, but he'd heard rumors about the traitorous member of the Sannin...resurrecting the dead Shodaime and Nidaime Hokages. Could that be what Orochimaru is using to essentially blackmail her into healing him? The promise of resurrecting her dead lover and little brother in exchange for her services? If that was the case...Naruto narrowed his eyes dangerously as he stared at the water, his irises bleeding into crimson as his spiking temper drew on a fraction of the Kyuubi's chakra. _'You better not betray the village, Tsunade. I won't hesitate to kill you if you do.'_

Finishing the special high-calorie ration bar that had the ingredients of a soldier pill mixed into it, Naruto closed his eyes and took a deep breath, calming himself back down. Opening his eyes again to reveal his icy blue irises, Naruto slowly forced himself to his feet before heading back to town with the intent to get some proper sleep, only managing to maintain his balance because of his four fox tails; his temper had spiked intensely a couple days into his training after a particularly heated arguement with the Kyuubi, triggering its growth after his rising temper caused the Kyuubi's chakra to automatically flood his body.

He was starting to care less and less about the growing number of tails he possessed, however, knowing it wouldn't stop no matter what he tried to do to stop it. So long as the Kyuubi was sealed inside of him, it was unavoidable and inevitable that he would only continue to sprout more and more tails...

xXxXxXx

Leaning back against the wall, Tsunade stared down at the crater she'd left back when Orochimaru and his weasel of an assistant first approached her with his proposition a week ago. She'd spent a lot of time thinking everything over. Would Dan or Nawaki be proud of her? Or would they be disappointed in her? Just how far had she really fallen over the years? Maybe...Maybe Naruto had been right about her. Maybe she was a lost cause. Maybe it was a good thing that she didn't become Hokage. She'd only ruin the village with the curse that was her bad luck. Good things only happened around her just before bad things inevitably followed.

Sensing the arrival of the person she was waiting on, Tsunade slowly looked up to see Orochimaru walking in her direction. There was no turning back now. There was no one to interrupt them now. She had drugged Jiraiya last night, Shizune was knocked out in the hotel room where Naruto was bedridden, having exhausted himself to the point that he'd be laid up for at least a few days. As the pale skinned man that was once her teammate in the distant past, Tsunade pushed off of the wall and walked out into the middle of the pathway, the two former comrades stopping a few meters away from each other.

"...Have you decided yet?" Orochimaru inquired after a few moments of silence. Still staring at the ground with a solemn blankness, Tsunade was quiet for a few seconds before speaking up.

"I'll heal your arms..." She mumbled softly before closing her eyes, thinking of Dan and Nawaki again. "In exchange, you are to never touch Konoha ever again..."

"Heh...Alright." Orochimaru agreed with a slight smirk, seeing the defeated look in Tsunade's eyes as she looked back up at him. "Then we have a deal..."

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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A Tale of Tails

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Chapter Seventeen

"Hmph...You're lucky." A familiar voice growled out as the smoke began to clear, revealing Naruto, Jiraiya, and Shizune. Behind them, Tsunade could only stare at their backs with wide eyes. Tails flicking with aggitation, Naruto glanced over his shoulder at her with narrowed blue eyes. "If you'd tried helping Snake-Fuck, I'd have used a moment like this to finish you off myself..."

"Naruto..." Jiraiya mumbled cautioningly to his student, getting a snort of annoyance from the fox-teen. Across from them, Kabuto smirked slightly, though on the inside, he was actually quite nervous. Sure, he was strong, but not strong enough to deal with two of the Sannin at the same time. Not only that, but the look in Naruto's eyes made him tense, his blue irises slowly shifting to a light purple before taking on a full-bodied crimson coloring as they locked on to him.

"I knew I recognized your scent..." Naruto mumbled quietly with narrowed eyes, drawing his trench knives. "You guys go deal with Snake-Fuck...Kabuto's bitch ass is mine..."

"Oh, so you finally remembered, eh?" Kabuto taunted quietly, gripping his kunai a little tighter. He knew Naruto was extremely fast. Maybe not the strongest, but the fox-boy's speed was difficult to deal with. Even for him.

"So, you know each other, eh?" Jiraiya remarked with a slight smirk, noticing the look in Naruto's eyes; the boy wanted retribution. "He's all yours, Naruto."

"Get out of my way!" Tsunade suddenly barked out as she rushed forward, shoving Jiraiya out of the way. Tensing his jaw, Kabuto jumped back just as she drew close, only to slice open his right wrist and splatter his blood across Tsunade's face and chest. Freezing up almost instantly, Tsunade was left in a panicked state, giving Kabuto an opening to kick her hard enough to launch her back. Shizune instantly caught her while Naruto sped past them, instantly engaging Kabuto in a fight.

"Shit!" The silver haired spy hissed under his breath as he deflected Naruto's trench knife with his kunai, only for his eyes to go wide in shock as the blade was sliced clean through. Kicking off of Naruto at the last second while slinging his blood in Naruto's face, Kabuto put some much needed distance between them as he dropped the broken remains of his dagger and reached into his weapon pouch, retrieving a small pill. Snarling viciously, Naruto used the glove on his left hand to wipe the blood out of his eyes, only to glare at Kabuto more angrily. Popping the blood clotting pill into his mouth, Kabuto kept his eyes locked on Naruto as he backed up to stand beside Orochimaru. "Orochimaru-sama...Please remove the bandages on your left arm."

"Naruto. Keep your temper under control with that guy. He's easily jounin level if he's acting as Orochimaru's right hand man." Jiraiya cautioned, knowing he'd have to deal with his condition thanks to Tsunade's drug. With her out of commission, he wouldn't be able to get cured of it, leaving him in a handicapped state against Orochimaru, even though the Snake summoner was handicapped himself. "Shizune. Watch over Tsunade, would you?"

"Hai!" Shizune chorused as she stood in front of her teacher and traveling companion. Actually listening to Jiraiya's advice for once, Naruto took a slow, deep breath to calm himself back down, his snarling expression becoming stoic and cold. Instead of rushing in like he often did, Naruto bent his legs slightly while hunkering down into a boxer's guard, glaring at Kabuto from behind his bladed fists. Just as Jiraiya bit his thumb, Kabuto coated his left hand in his own blood, the Toad Sage running through handseals while the silver haired spy ran his fingers across the summoning tattoo on Orochimaru's left forearm.

"Kuchiyose!" Both individuals called out, but only one produced a large cloud of smoke. As two giant snakes appeared from the smoke Kabuto had produced, Jiraiya could only stare at the small toad he'd summoned.

"Damn it! Not you!" Jiraiya balked irritably, his chakra control fluctuating too much from Tsunade's drug while the son of Gamabunta, Gamakichi, simply waved up at Jiraiya. Taking advantage of Jiraiya's blunder, Orochimaru commanded his serpents to attack his old teammate while Kabuto jumped off the one he'd been standing on. As they rushed, Jiraiya instantly ran through a few more handseals as he moved to avoid the lunging snakes.

"Doton: Yomi Numa!" Jiraiya called out just after the twin snakes slammed into the ground they'd been standing moments before, both summoned snakes becoming trapped in the thick swamp-like muck that formed underneath them. Darting out of the dust cloud created by the snakes' impacts, Naruto went straight for Kabuto.

"Where do you think you're going?! Katon: Endan!" Naruto snarled before expelling a ball of fire, forcing Kabuto to jump back and to the side, pushing him further away from where Tsunade was located while Jiraiya and Orochimaru battled atop the trapped giant snakes. Closing the distance between them in the short time it took for Kabuto to land, Naruto allowed the Kyuubi's chakra to flood his body, augmenting his muscles and bones as he kept one of his hands open. "Rasengan!"

 _'He actually managed to complete it?!'_ Shizune thought in shock as she watched the orb of violently swirling chakra form in Naruto's open right hand.

"What?!" Kabuto growled, his eyes wide as Naruto thrust the attack at his left side, forcing him to dodge to the right. As Naruto over-extended, Kabuto was about to take advantage of it, only to see the vicious smirk on Naruto's face as he darted by with a burst of more speed, his left trench knife just barely missing him by a centimeter. A split second later, Kabuto grit his teeth as a gash suddenly formed on his pants along the side of his left thigh, his eyes finally noticing the faint haze around Naruto's trench knife as the fox-teen came to a stop a little ways away. "Wind chakra...So that's your trick."

"If you think that's all I can do, you'll die much faster than I expected." Naruto growled out quietly as he turned to glare at Kabuto once more. "You were my only form of company back then for almost a year...and you used that time to torment and torture me for your own pleasure, turning me into a rabid beast. I'd rather you didn't die so fast...I want you to feel the same pain I did back then."

"Ooh...You've become quite sadistic since those days, haven't you?" Kabuto taunted, his blood starting to boil as he grinned slightly at the fox-boy. "Too bad you weren't paying closer attention, though..."

"Shit!" Shizune cursed as she dodged to the side, only to still get hit in the stomach by Kabuto, the real one, but she had already formed the handseals she needed, a thick purple fog seeping out of her mouth. "Doku Kiri!"

Just as the purple fog engulfed Kabuto, the silver haired teen let his clone dispell while his hands burst out of the ground beneath Shizune, his hands aglow with chakra as he grabbed her ankles. As the woman dropped to her hands and knees, her achiles tendons cut, Kabuto rose from the ground behind the woman. Gritting his teeth, Naruto wasn't able to move in time without being intercepted by Kabuto's Kage Bunshin. As Kabuto approached Tsunade, however, the silver haired teen reached out to her, only for a pair of Naruto's own Kage Bunshin to burst from the ground on either side of the shellshocked woman.

"Sneaky bastard!" Kabuto growled out as he blocked one clone's high kick with his right forearm and caught the left clone's leg at the ankle with his left hand as it attempted a low kick at the same time. At the same time, while Kabuto's clone was momentarily distracted, Naruto closed the distance between them in a single stride, the clone looking back towards him just soon enough for them to look eyes, only to be dispelled as Naruto lunged forward with another burst of speed, driving his knee into its chest with enough force to half-way cave in someone's ribcage due to his speed and enhanced strength.

Eyes darting to the side, Kabuto scowled as his clone was defeated. Gripping the clone's ankle tighter, Kabuto shoved the first clone away before suddenly kicking the second clone in the neck, dispelling it just as he spun back around and punched the first clone in the stomach, dispelling it as well. Just as he turned around, he barely hand the time to twist his body out of the way of Naruto's bladed fist as it shot straight for his neck. Driving his left fist into Naruto's side, Kabuto's eyes went wide as the fox-teen went up in smoke, only for him to burst from the ground directly behind him.

 _'How is he this good?!'_ Kabuto mentally raged as Naruto kicked him in the back hard enough to launch him nearly a dozen meters, only to right himself and land on his feet, sliding a little bit as he turned back around to face Naruto. Standing in front of Tsunade with Shizune at his feet, Naruto glanced at the pair before forming a half-seal with his left hand, causing another half dozen Kage Bunshin to pop into existence with three on either side of him. Kabuto grit his teeth as he glared at Naruto, the seven identical fox-teens glaring right back at him as their inidividual sets of four fox tails flicked back and forth aggressively. _'I can't keep underestimating him.'_

"You know...I'm starting to think you've got an inferiority complex. You keep attacking people that are incapable of defending themselves." Naruto remarked, intentionally trying to get Kabuto worked up, a tactic people have commonly used against him. It never worked against him to their advantage outside of angering him. Against Kabuto, Naruto knew it would work, having been a mouthy child back when they'd captured him. Kabuto grit his teeth even more as his scowl worsened. "Is it because you feel weak? Or perhaps it's because...everyone thinks you're no different than a diseased rat?"

"Shut up!" Kabuto snarled as he rushed Naruto, his hands glowing with fresh Chakra Scalpels as he ran straight at Naruto, his eyes bloodshot with rage. Forming a handseal, Naruto suddenly stomped on the ground.

"Doton: Hari no Mori!" Naruto snarled before dozens of tall spikes of stone punched through the ground all around him, dozens more bursting forth until almost a fifty meter diameter 'forest' of the earthen spines had formed in only a second. Having been forced to dodge them and too close to Naruto to fully escape the technique, Kabuto couldn't help gritting his teeth even more in anger. The boy was definitely skilled. Maybe not quite on his own level, but skilled enough to be a tough fight. It didn't help that he had lost sight of him, too. The spikes were roughly as big around as a tree sapling and they were spaced out enough for someone to easily walk through them all, but there were so many of them that it wasn't hard to lose track of someone. "Katon: Endan!/Fuuton: Reppushou!"

Kabuto dodged to the side just in time for the two techniques to collide with each other from different directions, the two opposing elements fueling each other and forming a whirlwind of blazing fire. Cursing under his breath as his left glove and pant leg caught fire, Kabuto didn't waste time trying to put the flames out, but it only gave Naruto an opportunity as the flames of his twin techniques died out.

"Kirigakure no jutsu." Naruto voice echoed from all around him as a thick mist formed inside of the 'forest of needles', further annoying Kabuto. The boy was definitely a ninjutsu specialist outside of fighting with his trench knives. Hearing something, Kabuto whipped around just in time to watch a shadowy figure dart by, disappearing once more. Seeing another out of the corner of his eye, Kabuto spun back around to watch another going in a completely different direction, only to see more all around him as they circled around him like a pack of wolves. "You won't leave here alive, Kabuto. I'll be seeing to that myself."

"You might be strong, Naruto, but can you really give in to your hatred like that?" Kabuto countered, smirking as he believed he could make Naruto hesitate on a killing blow; it was worth a shot, at least. A moment later, he grunted in pain as three kunai suddenly thudded against the back of his legs, one in either thigh and the third in the back of his left calf. Biting back a cry of pain as he dropped to his knees, Kabuto didn't hesitate to rip the knives out of his legs while using his chakra to heal his wounds from within. As he stood back up, Kabuto couldn't help smirking a little bit. "Okay, maybe you can..."

"Kunai Kage Bunshin!" Naruto, along with a couple of his clones, called out from within the mist as they threw handfuls of kunai at Kabuto, only for the dozen or so blades to turn into almost a hundred. As they rained down on him, though, Kabuto went up in smoke, having only been a clone that had been made a few moments ago. Having managed to escape for a moment, Kabuto rushed the still prone Tsunade at the heart of the 'forest' with a kunai in his hand, intending to at least remove his primary target while he could. Just as he came within range, however, Kabuto was caught off guard by Naruto bursting from the ground in front of him, catching Kabuto's hand in his own, the blade stabbing through his palm while the stone spikes crumbled apart as the technique was canceled, the mist fading alongside it. "You really thought I would leave her defenseless a second time around?"

"Tricky little shit..." Kabuto growled out through clenched teeth, trying to ignore the pain in his hand as Naruto squeezed tighter and tighter, trapping him in place. What he didn't realize was that Naruto was not only amplifying his strength, but using chakra to keep an unbreakable grip on Kabuto's hand. Even with the kunai stabbed through his hand, Naruto would never let go. That's when Kabuto saw the swirling mass of chakra in Naruto's right hand, his eyes going wide.

"Rasengan!" Naruto growled out as he thrust the orb forward as fast as possible, only for Kabuto to engulf his hand with chakra and slam his palm against Naruto's chest, causing Naruto to involuntarily release the Rasengan. Ignoring the sharp tightening in his chest, Naruto grabbed Kabuto's left wrist with his free hand. Twisting the older teen's arm with his heightened strength thanks to the Kyuubi's chakra still coursing through his body, Naruto easily snapped Kabuto's wrist, earning him a cry of pain from the spy that time. Before Kabuto could react, Naruto was already pulling him in closer, driving his right knee into Kabuto's left flank hard enough to break three of his ribs before suddenly headbutting the older shinobi, breaking his nose in a bloody mess, his glasses broken in the process. Letting him go, Naruto brought his right hand back once more, forming another Rasengan.

"I told you! Don't underestimate me!" Naruto roared in Kabuto's face, ignorant of the fifth tail that formed behind him as he thrust his Rasengan forward again. "RASENGAN!"

"GUAH!" Kabuto cried out in pain as the orb of chakra slammed into his stomach before Naruto purposefully detonated it, causing the Rasengan to expand into a giant maelstrom of chakra that launched the silver haired Oto shinobi back almost twenty meters until he collided with a boulder, his body spinning the whole time up until impact while the spherical storm of chakra dispersed. As he slammed into the rock hard enough to crack the stone, Kabuto stayed there, his midsection twisted up and bloody from the drilling ball of energy. Ignoring the blood dripping from his wounds, Kabuto couldn't resist smirking slightly, albeit humorlessly. He really should have stopped underestimating the boy a lot sooner. He was far stronger and smarter than he appeared...

"Fuck..." Naruto panted as he dropped to one knee, glaring at Kabuto as the man's wounds began to heal. Feeling his strength fade, Naruto knew he was on his last leg, but didn't know why. With the Kyuubi's chakra still flowing through his body, he should still have plenty of chakra to keep fighting and his wounds should heal. So...why did he feel so weak all of a sudden?

"Naruto..." Tsunade nearly whispered, having watched everything unfold in front of her with wide, frightened eyes.

"I planned ahead, Naruto. I gathered chakra in my stomach when I realized you were going to try the Rasengan again." Kabuto remarked as he stopped leaning against the boulder, his injury almost fully healed. "The moment you hit me, I was already starting to regenerate the destroyed cells. Looks like that had been your last gamble, though...Guah!"

"Heh...There you go again, underestimating me." Naruto growled out with a small fanged grin as Kabuto suddenly collapsed to the ground in pain. He knew it had done some serious damage to Kabuto, internally, having used the Rasengan on one of his clones earlier in the week to test it. Before it had dispelled, his clone felt as if its 'insides' were being blended together from the Rasengan's swirling chakra currents. That was when his vision suddenly went dark, only for him to collapse a moment later.

"Naruto!" Was all he heard before he lost total consciousness...

xXxXxXx

 **"You stupid boy..."** The Kyuubi growled out as Naruto opened his eyes, finding himself laying in the middle of the chamber and staring up at the forever shadowed ceiling. His mind still foggy, Naruto idly thought about how he still didn't know how high the ceiling was. For some reason, he kind of wanted to know, just out of curiousity. **"You're lucky that woman was there or else you'd be dead this time."**

"...Woman?" Naruto mumbled quietly as he narrowed his eyes slightly in confusion, only for his eyes to go wide as he bolted upright. "What happened?!"

 **"Whatever that man had done to you, your heart almost stopped because of it."** Kurama growled out, staring down at the five-tailed fox-teen. **"The woman is currently healing you as we speak. While I can heal your wounds, I can not do much when it comes to some of your internal organs; my chakra is too strong for them to handle. If I tried to heal your heart right now, it would only explode."**

"...I thought I was developing some kind of immunity against that sort of thing." Naruto mumbled out as he stood up, staring up into the Kyuubi's scarlet eyes. "What happened to that?"

 **"It may have gotten better, but as of right now, your immunity isn't that strong. All it does is keep you from losing control of yourself whenever you use my chakra and allows your body to handle more of my chakra at one time."** Kurama answered, knowing now wasn't the time to act like his usual self. Half of his focus was split, anyways, working to keep Naruto alive as they conversed in their shared realm. **"Given enough time, your immunity might grow strong enough to handle such things, but as of right now, you are on the Shinigami's doorstep."**

"...I can't die...Not yet." Naruto nearly whispered as he bowed his head, his hands balling up into fists as he thought of Haku. He promised her that he'd come back, alive and in one piece. He refused to break his promise, having always been a man of his word. Hearing the Kyuubi scoff irritably, Naruto tilted his head back up just enough to glare up at the giant fox.

 **"You're not dying, moron. You ALMOST died, but between me and that woman, you'll live."** Kurama grumbled, annoyed with his container. **"Now get out of here. I'm tired of looking at your shitty impersonation of my greatness."**

"...Fuck you, too, jackass." Naruto snarled quietly as he turned and started walking away, ignorant of how Kurama's eyes narrowed slightly as he stared at him, but not out of anger. As his container's manifestation faded away, Kurama laid down, still staring at the empty doorway leading to his cell. The boy hadn't drawn on his chakra during the fight; Kurama had _given_ it to him. Not even Naruto's anger had drawn on his power. While Naruto hadn't remembered Kabuto up until earlier, he had...It was one of the reasons why Naruto had been subconsciously suspicious of Kabuto back during the Chuunin Exams, why his chakra always spiked and invaded Naruto's system every time he was around the traitor.

 **"Don't say I never looked out for you..."** Kurama mumbled quietly before turning around, curling up as he intended to get some rest now that he was no longer needed to keep the boy alive...

xXxXxXx

"He's still doesn't like me, I take it?" Tsunade mumbled quietly as she took a sip of her sake while Jiraiya sat down across from her and Shizune at the bar. It'd been a couple days since their fight with Orochimaru and his second in command. Naruto had been bedridden for the first day after the fight, unconscious for most of it, but even after he woke up, Naruto hadn't said much to any of them. Even after Jiraiya informed him of how Tsunade was going to become the Godaime Hokage. Instead, he just kept fiddling with the gem hanging around his neck, staring out the window as he got lost in his thoughts.

"Get used to it. The brat is probably gonna hold a grudge against you for years. Trust me..." Jiraiya remarked before taking a sip of his own alcoholic beverage. "He's held one against me for almost ten years now."

"Ten years?" Tsunade sighed out in exasperation, hanging her head in defeat. "I really do have the worst luck, don't I?"

"Haha! Don't let it get you to you, Tsunade-hime. Otherwise, you'll be too depressed to do anything for the rest of your life." Jiraiya taunted with a laugh before taking another drink. "You'll figure him out eventually. He shows his feelings differently than most other people. As bad as we fight, I know Naruto still cares about me. He just doesn't let people get away with anything when it comes to his life. Give him time and he'll come around on his own."

"...I don't think calling someone a 'wrinkly old bitch' is a sign of forgiveness, Jiraiya-sama..." Shizune quietly quipped from her spot beside Tsunade, taking a drink of her own sake while Tsunade's eye brow started twitching; she'd _just_ forgotten about the brat's first words when he finally woke up.

"Pfft...You think he'll _forgive_ either of us? Not for a _looong_ time, that's for damn sure. He's too stubborn." Jiraiya scoffed casually, though he still glared off to the side with an indignant glare towards the end, wishing the boy would let go of his stupid grudges...

Elsewhere, Naruto sat at the edge of the crater-like valley the town was in, fiddling with the necklace he had on while staring up at the darkening sky, the evening giving way to night fully. He'd made a full recovery that morning, but had still confined himself to the hotel room for most of the day. Having come so close to death for the first time since meeting Haku, Naruto had finally realized just how much he actually wanted to live. The Kyuubi had mistaken his words as a fear of death. They'd been a fear of _losing_ what he had. While he wanted to live, he still wasn't afraid of death, but...he wasn't going to accept it for a long time still to come. There was too much he still wanted to do before that happened.

He'd finally found himself a goal in life, a dream to strive for, and he wasn't going to let anything stand in his way up until then...

xXxXxXx

Sighing quietly to herself, Haku started making her way back to the apartment, having just finished some light grocery shopping as the day came to an end. She'd been running Sakura into the ground recently, teaching her the basics of Muon Satsujin; mostly in an effort to make the girl a little quieter and while _some_ progress had been made over the past couple weeks, there wasn't as much as she'd like. Not wanting to spend time cooking dinner for herself yet again in the empty apartment, Haku took a moment to make the one and only Kage Bunshin she could manage before passing the groceries over to it. Instead, she turned down another road and made her way to a small restuarant she'd been to only once before...

"Haku-chan! Nice to see you again!" Ayame greeted cheerfully from behind the counter as Haku brushed the curtain-like flaps aside. "How've you and Naruto-kun been? We haven't seen you guys in a long time."

"Eh...I've been alright, I guess, and Naruto-kun's out on a mission right now. I don't know when he'll be back." Haku returned as she took a seat, currently the only customer in the tiny stand. "I'll just have a small miso, please."

"Alright, I'll have your order in just a few minutes." Ayame responded as she turned around to make the food. "Thank god it's been slow today. I've been here by myself all day. Dad had to stay home today; food poisoning, of all things."

"I hope he feels better soon." Haku offered up politely before rubbing her tired eyes, the undersides of them having started growing dark again from a lack of sleep. Her nightmares had been starting up again. _'Come home soon, Kitsune-kun. I miss you...'_

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Doton: Hari no Mori- Earth Release: Forest of Needles

A/N: Guys...Don't kill me. I know it's another short chapter. I'll try a little harder with the next one, okay? I hope everyone enjoyed.


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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A Tale of Tails

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Chapter Eighteen

"Wait...You mean, they're actually letting this happen?" Naruto questioned, his confusion and suspicioun clearly written on his face. Tsunade couldn't help smirking slightly, noticing how Naruto's ears had perked up along with how his tails had started swaying slightly with what she could only assume to be some sort of positive reaction. "I mean...the Council tried so hard to _stop_ me from even becoming a genin, so...why would they allow this?"

"Don't you remember what happened during the Chuunin Exams, Naruto?" Jiraiya spoke up from off to the side, the three of them having been called to the little meeting just minutes after returning to Konoha. While Tsunade sat in what was now _her_ chair, the two Hokage's Advisors, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, stood on either side of her.

"Everyone in the village has heard about your little speech during your match with Hyuuga Neji, Naruto-san." Koharu began, having once been one of the council members that had tried hindering Naruto in the past, but the 'speech' she spoke of had been one of the things that changed her mind about him. She had never seen him as the demon he contained, but she had no love for him either. She feared that he would abuse the Kyuubi's power after he'd been rescued from Orochimaru's lab and even then, she feared he had some sort of ties with the traitor himself. Now, she no longer believed in such irrational fears. "I do admit that I was one of the people fully opposed to you becoming a shinobi in the past. However, when it was revealed that Orochimaru had attacked the village with Suna and Oto, you did not hesitate to back up those words you said in the stadium that day. Every single person from the common civilian to the dignitaries visiting the village that had been present in the arena survived the attack because of your Kage Bunshin. You even defeated Suna's Ichibi jinchuuriki, Sabaku no Gaara. Because of your bravery and actions during the invasion, you indirectly saved a lot of lives that day."

"Not only that, but during the second test of the Chuunin Exams, it was reported that you tried fighting Orochimaru by yourself." Homura began shortly after Koharu. "Regardless of whether it was out of personal retribution or the defense of your teammates, you still fought against our village's greatest enemy and while it did not have any effect on the decision to promote you, it is something we still took into consideration."

"...I didn't do _that_ much..." Naruto mumbled quietly as he looked down and to the side, his ears pinned back once more, but out of embarrassment. He wasn't used to getting such high praise. Even then, he was still suspicious of the Council, if only just slightly. He hadn't even realized that his little rant would have such a huge impact on so many people afterwards, regardless of the cheers he had received after beating Neji. If anything, he had expected more problems...

"For once in your life, stop being so humble!" Jiraiya laughed as he reached over and slapped Naruto on the back of his shoulder, instantly getting a heated glare from Naruto. He waved it off, however, gesturing towards the vest. "Go on! Put it on. You earned it, didn't you?"

"...Is that all you needed from me? There are things I have to do." Naruto questioned as he ignored Jiraiya and looked to Tsunade.

"No, that'll be it for now. I have things to take care of myself." Tsunade responded, referring to healing the two other male members of Team 7, prompting Naruto to 'politely' bow and leave the office with his vest in hand. Sighing after a moment, Tsunade leaned back in her chair before looking at Jiraiya. "He really did all of that? I expected something like that from you or one of the exceptionally skilled jounin in the village, but...a genin did all of that?"

"He was not just any genin, Tsunade-sama. He's also _their_ child." Koharu remarked with respect, not for Tsunade or Naruto, so much, but for the boy's parentage. Granted, she used to have ill feelings towards Kushina for similar reasons as she once did for Naruto, but not after the Kyuubi's attack on the village. The woman had given her life to not only protect her child, but to protect the village that dreadful night. As for the boy's father, there wasn't a single person in Konoha that held ill feelings for the man; he was a hero, after all. "Speaking of which..."

"Don't worry. One day, he'll find out, but that won't be for a long time." Jiraiya spoke up, cutting Koharu off. "My late student had a lot of enemies and while he might be gone, I know at least a few of them aren't above taking their revenge out on his kid. I plan on training him more before I reveal that kind of information to him."

"On a side note...I noticed that he's acquired a fifth tail." Homura remarked, glancing between Tsunade and Jiraiya. "I would like to know the story behind that, if you don't mind."

Jiraiya sighed heavily as Tsunade looked right at him along with Koharu. Out of everyone in the room, he was the only one in the room to actually know anything about it, anyways...

Finally slipping the vest on just before leaving the administration building, Naruto couldn't help fussing with it slightly. It'd take him some time to get used to it, but it wasn't too bad. The supply pouches would come in handy for some of his equipment for certain situations. The flak vest had a wire-mesh weave built into it for protection along with the dense, but light-weight padding. While a blade could still pierce it, even if thrown from a distance, it would still provide some decent protection.

Pulling his thoughts away from the vest, Naruto started walking in the direction of his apartment, his desire to see Haku showing in his tails as they swayed slightly behind him. Momentarily thinking of them, Naruto couldn't help grimacing about possessing five tails now, already dreading the sort of reactions he'll get from the villagers. He personally didn't care about how many tails he had anymore, having dealt with new ones sprouting almost randomly so far, but if people started giving him problems over them...

"Hey, there he is..." His hearing just barely picked up the hushed whisper, prompting Naruto to grimace slightly and pin his ears back, thinking it was another of his haters. "Now's your chance. Go for it."

 _'God damn it...'_ Naruto mentally growled out as he closed his eyes as he walked, shoving his hands in his pockets as he trudged down the street. Why did everyone always have to ruin his good mood? He just wanted to go home and hold the woman he loved...

"H-Hey, uh...K-Kitsune-san?" Naruto paused, hearing the nervous stuttering of a child. Opening his eyes and looking behind him, Naruto's ears perked back up curiously as he stared down at the kid, the young girl looking to be no older than maybe seven or eight years old. Cheeks flushed with embarrassment, the girl quickly bowed to him. "T-Thank you for saving kaa-chan during the invasion! If you hadn't been there to save her, she would have died."

"Wha...?" Naruto mumbled in confusion before glancing up to see the young girl's mother standing on the other side of the street, smiling warmly at him. She had bandages wrapped around her left arm from the shoulder down, from the looks of it, along with some around her neck. He had to admit that she did seem vaguely familiar to him, but he couldn't pinpoint when or where he'd seen the woman before. Maybe one of his clones had saved her during the invasion? Just before he could say anything, though, the little girl ran back to her mother, promptly hiding behind her. Running a hand over his head and down the back of his neck, Naruto turned back around and started walking again, keeping his head down awkwardly as he journeyed home.

Now that he was paying a little more attention, he noticed how he wasn't getting so many looks of hatred or disgust. Sure, there were more nasty looks than anything, but...some of the people weren't glaring at him quite so harshly and he even noticed a couple people quietly chastizing some of those giving him such hateful looks. Just what was going on? He was used to the villagers' hatred, but...not their _kindness_. Actually starting to feel a little weirded out by it, Naruto channeled a bit of chakra into his legs before jumping up to the rooftops, something he realized that he hadn't been doing all that often recently. Not really wanting to think about the villagers at the moment, Naruto started running at a light pace, quickly traversing the last few blocks to his apartment building.

Jumping up to the top floor, Naruto decided that he needed just a little bit of nostalgia in his life at the moment and walked along the railing until he reached his door. Fishing his keys out of his pocket as he stepped off the guard rail, he didn't waste time unlocking the door and disarming the trap, entering the small apartment he shared with Haku. After locking the door and taking his equipment off, Naruto glanced around and listened, not finding any sign of Haku even though it was almost noon. Deciding to check the bedroom before he started getting worried, Naruto quietly walked to the cracked open door and pushed it open as he looked inside.

Sighing in relief, Naruto couldn't help smiling as he walked over to the bed, Haku currently sleeping with a body pillow trapped in her embrace. Taking off his wire-mesh top and his holstered trench knives, he set them on the nightstand along with his hitai-ate and vest before carefully crawling into bed without disturbing her. After a moment of trial and error, he managed to detach Haku from the pillow and set it off to the side before slowly pulling her close to him. Feeling the soft warmth of his fur as he wrapped his arms around her, Haku stirred slightly in her sleep before cuddling closer, holding him tight. Smiling more lovingly, Naruto gently tilted Haku's head up before tenderly kissing her on the lips.

"Mm..." Haku sleepily grunted out as she started waking up, slowly returning the kiss as she reached up to bury her fingers in the fur on the back of his neck and head. Eyes still closed, Haku slowly deepened the kiss, slipping her tongue into his mouth as she sluggishly rolled over on top of him. Feeling his hands come to a rest on her hips, Haku smiled slightly against Naruto's lips before slowly pulling back, staring into the icy blue eyes she had missed waking up to every morning. "Mmm...Well, good morning, Kitsune-kun..."

"Heh...Good morning to you, too, Usagi-chan." Naruto whispered back before sticking to his usual 'morning ritual' of lightly nibbling on Haku's ear. Giggling quietly, Haku tried shying away from his mouth, only for him to pull her back down a little more firmly, his mouth shifting from her ear to her neck. Closing her eyes, Haku moaned softly as her boyfriend started kissing and lightly sucking on her neck, his actions making her melt against him with sensual bliss. Breathing a little heavier as his hands squeezed her rear, Haku couldn't resist the sultry smirk that forced its way on to her face as she grabbed Naruto's pants at his hip, only to start pulling him along with her as she rolled them both over. Letting out another quiet moan as Naruto started grinding against her a little bit, Haku couldn't help smiling more as she held him close, purposefully moaning next to his ear in an attempt to further excite him.

Giggling again as he nipped at her neck, Haku started tugging on her shirt, trying to pull it off, only to stop half-way. Eyes rolling back in her head, Haku moaned heartily as Naruto bit down on her neck where it met her shoulder, her legs wrapping around him and squeezing him tightly as her arousal spiked. Helping her with her tank top a little bit, Naruto pulled away from her just long enough to pull the article of clothing off of her before capturing her lips in a passionate and loving kiss, coaxing out another soft groan of pleasure from her. Rocking her hips against his, Haku fisted a hand in the fur on the back of Naruto's neck as their tongues danced, her other hand moving down to undo her lover's pants while he helped her take her panties off.

"Na...Naruuu..." Haku gasped out with a soft moan as their lips finally parted for some much needed air. After taking a moment to shed the last of his clothes, Naruto grabbed one of Haku's hands, interlocking their fingers as he captured her lips with another heated tongue-filled kiss. Breaking the kiss shortly after it began, Haku let out a whimpering moan of ecstacy as she was penetrated, burying her face against the side of Naruto's neck as she locked her ankles behind his lower back. Spine arching with nearly orgasmic bliss, Haku simply let him please her body, moaning softly as he rocked against her.

She didn't know what it was or why, but Naruto seemed...different. Hoping nothing bad had happened while he was out on his mission, Haku decided to worry about it later as she forced her tongue into Naruto's mouth once more, squeezing his hand tightly as she felt an all too familiar knot already start to build up in her core...

xXxXxXx

"I'm so proud of you! My baby made chuunin!" Haku laughed as she held up Naruto's chuunin flak vest, sitting up and stradling said fox-teen with the sheets pulled up around her hips to cover them both as much as possible. Slipping it on over her naked torso, Haku playfully posed on top of him. "How do I look?"

"Absolutely gorgeous." Naruto mumbled with a small smile, getting a beaming grin from Haku as she leaned down to kiss him, a quiet groan escaping her as he groped her butt with one hand. Grabbing his bottom lip with her teeth, Haku playfully growled at him as she lightly tugged at it, only to release it with a soft gasp of pleasure as she felt him stiffen once more under her. As his tongue darted back into her mouth, Haku didn't have the will power to turn down a second round, wholeheartedly returning the kiss as she took the vest off, dropping it beside the bed. Moaning softly as he fully penetrated her, Haku smirked alluringly against Naruto's lips as she slowly sat up again, her hands braced against his chest as she rolled her hips against his.

"Mmm...What's got you-Mm...so worked up, Kitsune-kun?" Haku asked between her quiet moans, intending to tease him as she stared down at him, her eyes half-lidded with love and lust as she seductively smirked at him again. Grabbing her wrists and pulling her arms aside, Naruto waited until she leaned back down before lovingly kissing her as he rocked his own hips against her, getting another soft gasp in response. Haku didn't care that they weren't using protection this time, knowing enough about medicinal herbs that she'd be more than capable of brewing up a little 'morning after' drink for herself if she really needed to.

"Oh, nothing." Naruto remarked with a casual sounding whisper, even though Haku could hear the small grin on his face as he started planting light 'butterfly' kisses along her neck and collar bone, sending little shivers up her spine. "Just happy to be in the company of such a beautiful young woman. Kind of wondering if she'd be willing to spend the rest of her life with me..."

"Hmm...I don't see why she wouldn't." Haku whispered back a little breathlessly, still rocking her hips as Naruto moved to her other collar bone before kissing towards the center of her chest. As he gently wrapped his lips around her right nipple, Haku's breath hitched in her throat as she ran her fingers through the fur on the back of his neck, holding herself up with one hand while cradling his head against her modest bust. "She...She clearly loves...t-the way you t-treat heeer..."

"Mmm...That _is_ true." Naruto mumbled teasingly with a small smirk before moving his head to attend to Haku's left breast, slowly dragging his tongue over her nipple. Tensing up as she shivered, Haku bit down on her bottom lip, thoroughly enjoying the feeling of her beloved's naturally semi-rough tongue against the sensitive flesh of her breast before he started sucking on her erect teat. Already feeling a knot building up again, Haku had to force herself to keep the same slow pace as Naruto, his hand gripping her rear and thigh once more as his other hand slowly moved from her hip and up along her flank. As he cupped her right breast, Haku tightened her grip on the fur on the back of his neck, whimpering quietly as he started fondling and squeezing the mound of supple flesh, her nipple being pinched and rolled between the knuckles of his index and middle fingers as he kept suckling her other breast.

Keeping herself restrained, albeit just barely, Haku struggled to keep her wits about her. She was having a hard time forming a single coherent thought in her head as she kept rolling her hips, her mind foggy with lust and desire for her fox-like lover. It was also the first time she'd been on top for so long and having him buried so deep inside of her the entire time was starting to get to her a little bit. Unable to resist any longer, Haku started rocking her hips a little quicker, her previously quiet whimpering moans slowly growing a little louder as she drew closer and closer to climaxing.

"Na...Naruuu!" Haku whined softly into his ear as Naruto teasingly trapped her nipple between his teeth, making her shiver more heavily. She knew he was teasing her so bad on purpose and while she vowed to get revenge against him, Haku couldn't help enjoying it almost more than Naruto did doing it to her. As he finally released her nipple, Haku didn't hesitate to take advantage of the moment, capturing his lips in a hungry and lusting kiss as she forced her tongue into his mouth, lifting her hips a little more as she continued rocking back and forth on top of him. Forcing his hands off of her, Haku entangled their fingers together and pinned his hands to the bed as she started to actually ride him, their tongues still dancing...

xXxXxXx

As mid-afternoon began to give way to the evening, Naruto couldn't help smiling warmly as he continued running his fingers through Haku's hair with one hand, the pair lounging on the couch. Laying between his legs, Haku had her arms wrapped around his waist with her head resting on his chest, dressed once more in only her light grey tank top and her dark blue booty short panties as she napped. After the third round in the shower, Haku had been too worn out to stay awake much longer, still feeling tired from a lack of sleep.

He wanted nothing more than to live a full and happy life with the dark haired beauty, to raise a family with her one day. After being away from her for so long, he had wanted to spend as much time with her as possible the moment he got back to Konoha. While he'd been semi-forced into going to the little meeting with Tsunade and Jiraiya earlier for his official promotion, Naruto was glad it hadn't taken very long. After his closest encounter with death back in Tanzaku Gai, Naruto had realized just how much he truly loved Haku, how badly he wanted to keep living.

While it wasn't exactly a career goal, it was still a dream of his for them to start a family in the future. However, it also gave him a reason to get stronger, to train harder; if they ever did have a family, he wanted to be strong enough to make sure they would always be safe. Reaching over and picking up one of the books that had been on the coffee table, Naruto glanced at the cover for a moment before opening it, holding it in one hand as he kept running his fingers through Haku's hair.

It was on ninjutsu theory, something he had only recently started looking into while training for the Chuunin Exams with Jiraiya. So far, his only 'personal' techniques were his Doton: Hari no Mori technique and his Kiri Bunshin, but it took roughly the same amount of chakra to make one Kiri Bunshin as it did for almost a half dozen Kage Bunshin. He knew with time and practice, he could cut down on the amount of chakra it took to make one, but with how short-lived the mist was, he knew it would take him some time to properly perfect the clone technique. Making Hari no Mori had been a lot easier, but it still wasn't quite up to his standards; the earthen spikes were supposed to come up all at once, but he could only manage to form them in a...ripple, so to speak. Other than that, the technique was good enough to use freely, especially since it only required a couple handseals to perform.

He'd made Hari no Mori to act as a 'second stage' attack with either a dense group of his Kiri Bunshin or with the Kirigakure technique. He'd create his Kiri Bunshin first before using Hari no Mori, which would purposefully dispell some of his clones, creating a thick and blinding mist at the same time. Until he perfected his Kiri Bunshin, however, he'll have to use the Kirigakure technique for now, which might actually prove more effective in certain situations anyways. He had ideas for others as well, but they could be considered as just him improving upon pre-existing techniques, like his Kiri Bunshin since it was just a combination of his Kage Bunshin and part of the Kirigakure technique.

He planned on creating a number of techniques that he could teach Haku and, maybe, to any children they may or may not have in the future once they were old enough to learn them. He might even let some of his techniques circulate through Konoha's Shinobi Library or pass them on to other shinobi of the village. He hadn't quite decided yet and he had a long time to think about it, so he wasn't exactly concerned. Thinking of Haku, though, Naruto decided to talk with Tsunade about letting Haku fully join the village so that she could work towards becoming a teacher like they'd talked about a number of times in the past. He also needed to check on his teammates, Sasuke especially...

He worried about his mental health, the sole Uchiha loyal to Konoha having suffered the agony that was the Mangekyou Sharingan's Tsukiyomi technique. For a second time. Not only that, but from what Gai had told them back when Itachi and Kisame had attacked them, Kakashi had fallen victim to the same technique earlier on that same day. That made three people he'd have to pay a visit to tomorrow. He might check on Sakura as well while he was at it. He hadn't seen the pinkette since just before the Chuunin Exam finals began and he remembered Haku saying something about how she'd made her first kills during the invasion. That made four people he had to see tomorrow...

"Mmnn..." Haku groaned softly in her sleep as she held him a little tighter and stirred slightly, sounding almost as if she was having a minor bad dream at the moment. Gently rubbing the back of her neck and shoulders, Naruto sighed lightly with relief as she settled back down and relaxed against him fully a few moments later. Deciding not to worry about tomorrow, Naruto got back to his reading as Haku slumbered, his five long and fluffy fox tails curling around Haku's lower half to keep her warm...

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"Wh-What if she doesn't like me?" Haku stuttered out nervously as she and Naruto walked to the administration building, her boyfriend having wanted to introduce her to Tsunade. Fully dressed and geared, Haku fussed with the high collar of her top for a moment, unknowing of how much it reminded Naruto of how he used to be with his old scarf. A small warm smile tugged at his lips as he shook his head at how nervous she was. "I mean...I was technically a criminal when I-"

"It doesn't matter, Haku. That's in the past." He reassured, but Haku still lightly chewed on her lip. "Besides, this is just a formal introduction. The old hag won't be passing judgement on you or anything, so relax."

"Mmnn..." Haku weakly glared at him as she tucked a couple stray bangs behind her ear, having missed a few of them when she put her hair up in a high top-knot pony-tail. "You shouldn't be so disrespectful, Kitsune-kun...She's still the Hokage, you know."

"Feh...I don't give a damn if she was my _grandmother_. That old hag has a long way to go before I start to show her respect." Naruto grumbled back, half-way pouting as he glared off to the side, his tails flicking for a moment. She might have changed her tune, so to speak, but the lyrics were still the same. Until she proved to him that she'd changed, Naruto had no intentions of giving Tsunade a free pass just because of her position. Holding the door open for Haku as they reached the administration building, the couple walked on in silence until they reached the door to the Hokage's office.

"Mmnn..." Haku groaned quietly, still chewing on her lip as she stared at the door anxiously, still a little too scared to knock. Her thoughts were broken as Naruto turned her head towards him, only to kiss her gently and lovingly. Calming back down, Haku smiled gratefully as she stared into his calming pale blue eyes. "...I'm a wreck, aren't I?"

"Eh, I wouldn't call you a wreck..." Naruto mumbled quietly before giving her another peck on the lips and leaning back once more. "Maybe a lovely little mess, but not a wreck."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, you jerk." Haku laughed out quietly, playfully shoving him a little bit. Having succeeded in cheering her back up, Naruto smirked slightly while knocking on the door, getting a small glare from Haku. "I didn't say I was ready yet..."

"Oh, relax. It'll be fine, Usagi-chan." Naruto dismissed with a roll of his eyes, still smirking while Haku blushed slightly as she maintained her slight glare.

"Enter." Tsunade called out just loud enough for them to hear through the door. Opening the door, Naruto let Haku go in first before closing the door behind them. "Oh, Naruto. I wasn't expecting you. Who's your friend?"

"I-I'm Yuki Haku, Hokage-sama." Haku stammered out a little nervously after being discreetly nudged by her boyfriend, throwing a short-lived glare again before she focused back on Tsunade. "I-I'm Naruto-kun's girlfriend..."

"So, you're the girl Jiraiya was talking about so much." Tsunade remarked as she stood up from her chair and walked around the desk. Noticing how Naruto seemed a little peeved by what she'd said, Tsunade rolled her eyes at his reaction and waved him off. "Relax, brat. He wasn't perving on her. It was more like he was telling ghost stories from how he talked about her."

" _Good_. The lech needs a little fear in him to keep him in line." Naruto grumbled as he crossed his arms over his chest. Glancing at Naruto, Haku was a little caught off guard by how casual the two of them were with each other. Before he could continue, Haku had looked forward just in time to realize that Tsunade was standing in front of her, staring at her. Getting a little nervous again, Haku fidgeted awkwardly before Tsunade smirked slightly and leaned back against her desk.

"Haku, was it? You're not from around here, are you?" Tsunade asked, catching Haku off guard a little bit. Calming back down after a few moments, though, Haku shook her head negatively. "Before we get around to what you two really wanted, why don't you tell me a little about yourself."

"No, ma'am, I'm not. I...I was originally born in Water Country, back during the Bloodline Purges..." Haku answered quietly before holding a hand out in front of her, palm up. A moment later, Tsunade's eyes went wide as a senbon made of ice formed in Haku's hand. Wrapping her hand around the small ice needle, Haku took a deep breath to calm down, but she kept her gaze on the ground as she slowly wrapped her arms around her middle. Noticing her behavior, Tsunade frowned slightly while Naruto gently put a hand on the back of her shoulder, silently comforting her. "Before I met Naruto, I used to travel with Momochi Zabuza, an A-rank Kiri missing-nin and former member of the Seven Shinobi Swordsmen. He had found me when I was still a child, living on the streets. He trained me, took care of me. Back in Wave Country almost eight months ago, I...I met Naruto. After...After Zabuza died, Naruto took care of me...It's because of him that I'm still alive. After his team finished their mission, I...I came to the village with him. I've been living with him ever since."

"...So, that's why you were able to teach Naruto Muon Satsujin and the Kirigakure technique." Tsunade commented idly, her frown having shifted into a slight grimace as she thought about everything. That's when she looked at Naruto. "Don't hold it against him, but Jiraiya has been a little suspicious of her for a little while now. He just wanted to make sure nothing bad happened to you, Naruto. That's all."

"I told him to stay out of my business..." Naruto growled out quietly, obviously annoyed with the piece of information Tsunade told him about. Watching as Haku nudged him and gave him a look, Tsunade barely stopped herself from smirking slightly when she watched Naruto nearly pout for a moment before sighing and visibly relaxing a little. Tsunade was glad to see how much 'control' Haku had over the boy. Someone had to keep his temper in check, after all.

"Naruto might have already said something to you, Haku, but you don't have to worry about your past." Tsunade spoke up after a moment, getting a look of shock from Haku. While it was true that Naruto had already said the same thing, Haku hadn't believed it. "Jiraiya already told me about your efforts to protect Konoha and Her people during the invasion. So long as nothing comes around to haunt us, I don't care what you did in the past. What matters right now is what you do from this point on."

"Um, speaking of which, Hokage-sama...I, uh...I came here to make a r-request." Haku spoke up, feeling nervous again, only for different reasons. "I wanted to...see if I could become an official ninja of Konoha."

"Normally, I can't grant requests like that..." Tsunade started off with a blank expression, causing Haku to bow her head slightly in dismay. " _But_ I think I can pull a few strings. I'll get back to you about it. First, I want to know why."

"I...I want to be a teacher." Haku mumbled a little shyly, still not all that confident in her teaching skills. "I want to teach at the Academy...if that's okay. I've always had a soft spot for kids and...Naruto keeps saying I'd make a good teacher. I'm not an academic scholar, but I know enough as a ninja that I want to pass on that knowledge to the next generation."

"Hmm...I'll see what I can do. Come back tomorrow and I should have a more definite answer for you on that." Tsunade responded after a moment of thought, noticing the immediate change in Haku's demeanor. While still a little nervous, Haku had cheered up almost immediately, hope clearly visible in her eyes. Smirking faintly, Tsunade still felt a little bad for lying to her; she could make Haku a kunoichi of the village right then and there if she so chose, but she wanted to think about it a little bit more. Unlike Jiraiya, she wasn't suspicious of the girl. Despite his dislike of her, Tsunade trusted Naruto enough to know that he wouldn't let someone get so close to him if he didn't trust them. Judging by the look in his eyes, Tsunade had no doubt in her mind that he loved her with everything he had and that was all she needed... "Was that all?"

"For the most part, yeah." Naruto remarked as he uncrossed his arms and reached for the door. "Come on, Haku. I want to go check on my team while we're out."

"Okay...I'll see you around this time tomorrow morning, Hokage-sama. Have a good day." Haku said to Tsunade in departure, bowing politely before following Naruto out of the office. Sighing quietly as the door shut behind them, Tsunade couldn't help smiling a little, remembering how she and Dan had been almost the same way as the young couple that had just left. Thinking of her deceased lover, Tsunade thought about the necklace hanging around Naruto's neck. She had to admit, it looked a lot better on him than it did on her. The boy obviously had better luck than she did. Tsunade could only hope that it never ran out.

"Hah...Back to the grind stone." Tsunade grumbled quietly before walking back around the desk and sitting down, only to stare at the paper work on her desk and sigh heavily. Reaching into a drawer, she pulled out a personal bottle of sake before filling the small dish with the liquid. Drinking it, Tsunade poured herself one last one before putting it away again and returning the stack of papers she had to attend to...

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A/N: Eighteen chapters...A Tale Of Tails has become my longest story, chapter wise, in only a couple short months. I'm actually kind of surprised with myself. While it could do with some longer chapters, I think I've done pretty damn good with this story so far. Here's to hoping I keep doing just as good with my other stories as I rewrite them all, eh? I hope everyone enjoyed the new chapter.


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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A Tale of Tails

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Chapter Nineteen

"Geez...Hatake-san was only just healed yesterday and he's already been assigned a mission?" Haku mumbled as they left the man's humble little home, having just caught the man before he left for the aforementioned mission. Despite being in a hurry, Kakashi had still congratulated Naruto on his promotion with the promise to treat him to something once he returned from his mission.

"We lost nearly half of our forces during the invasion, Haku." Naruto answered quietly as he wrapped an arm around her, his hand on her hip as she leaned into him with her own arm wrapped around him. "With us weakened so much, the other villages might take advantage of it and try to finish us off. Not only that, but with our manpower being at an all time low, everyone's pulling double-duty to keep everything going."

"That...makes sense, but it's putting some of the ninja at risk of burning themselves out." Haku pointed out, getting a slight grimace from Naruto.

"You're not used to living in a Hidden Village as a ninja of that village, Haku. Elsewhere, something like this would seem rather foolish, but for us, it works." The fox-teen explained as he gained a serious, but soft expression. "To keep others from seeing how weak we are right now, we keep up appearances as if nothing had happened. It deters our enemies from attacking and we keep our clients, thus the village's income remains at least somewhat steady. If we lose that income, everything falls apart. When that happens, if the village is barely struggling to maintain what little they still have, you run across a situation like with Suna; fight or die."

"So...they attacked because they didn't have enough money?" Haku questioned, her confusion clear on her face as she glanced up at him.

"Yeah, essentially. Without money, you can't build or expand anything. You can't even repair anything or restock on things like food or important materials or resources." Naruto continued as they turned down another road, heading in the direction of the hospital. "Without money, you can't pay the shinobi. If you can't pay them, they either revolt or leave. Without shinobi, you have no protection. At that point, another Hidden Village could come through and take over everything, if they wanted to. Years ago, though, there were certain laws that had been passed to keep nations from 'assimilating' each other, thankfully. At the same time, if a Daimyo stops funding a village like with Suna, the same thing could happen. Despite being major military powers, a Hidden Village can be brought to its knees without raising a single kunai at them."

"But that doesn't explain why shinobi that are hurt or recovering still like Hatake-san can't have a little more time to rest." Haku grumbled, pouting slightly. Feeling a tad sheepish since he kind of distracted himself from answering her actual question, Naruto used his free hand to scratch under his chin.

"If we let everyone that was still capable of fighting rest when they could be out doing missions, the other Hidden Villages would take it as a sign of weakness because of our lack of initiative. Thus, they would attack or make some sort of move against us to either weaken us further or gain some form of advantage over us, if not wipe us out entirely." Naruto continued with the unexpected lecture, but if she actually managed to become a teacher, she would need to know something like their current topic of conversation. Just in case one of her students asked the same question at some point. "While you're not wrong that the ninja being forced to take on missions are at a higher risk of burning themselves out or getting more hurt than they already are, you also have to realize that being a ninja of a Hidden Village isn't just a career choice. It is a way of life for us. If we were to slack off or act the wrong way, it reflects on the village. By not doing anything, the other villages, again, see it as a sign of weakness. With our remaining shinobi staying as active as possible, it keeps up the appearance that we haven't lost strength. To put it more simply, we're pretty much bluffing our way through until we recover."

"...Oh." Haku mumbled quietly, looking down in thought as they started getting closer to the hospital. Neither of them had paid any attention to their surroundings as they walked, but if they had, they would have noticed how a few people had started whispering amongst themselves about the couple. Only a small portion were counted amongst Naruto's remaining 'haters', but the rest were people that had come view the newly promoted fox-teen in a more positive light. If they _had_ paid them closer attention, they would have most likely been a little embarrassed by the attention they were getting from the bystanders. "So...does that mean you're going to be heading back out on another mission soon?"

"Most likely, yes." Naruto answered with a slight sigh while Haku frowned a little herself. Kissing the top of Haku's head, Naruto gently rubbed her side just above her hip while loosely curling one of his tails around the back of her legs, causing the ice-wielder to blush a little bit with a small smile of her own. "Don't worry, Usagi-chan. I'll see if the Old Hag will give me missions close to the village so I'm not gone too long, okay?"

"Okay..." Haku mumbled quietly as she nuzzled her cheek against his shoulder. She knew it would happen eventually, but that didn't mean she liked it any better. As a shinobi of Konoha, Naruto was expected to take on missions to put money in both his own and the village's pocket as well as fighting in the village's defense, or offense, and even taking on critical missions given by the village itself. It was one of the reasons why she had decided to actually become a teacher; she couldn't stand being in the apartment by herself. She couldn't stand the emptiness, the loneliness of it. It reminded her of the hole left in her heart from Zabuza's death...

She had come to terms with his passing and had been learning to move on because of Naruto, but...she felt like there was still something missing. She hoped it finally went away once she started working as a teacher, if the Godaime allowed it. It would certainly keep her busy on a more regular and daily basis. It would keep her mind off it, at the very least. Yeah, it wouldn't really solve the issue since she'd just be ignoring it, but...it was a start, at least. It gave her time to think about it. At a later date...

"Come on. Scarecrow said Sasuke's room was on the second floor." Naruto suddenly spoke up, snapping Haku out of her thoughts just in time to realize that they were already in the hospital. Detaching from his side with a great deal of reluctance, Haku followed him up the single flight of stairs, smiling a little at his back. He had done so much for her in the past eight, almost nine, months she'd known him. From what she was told, though, apparently she had done just as much for him at the same time. Maybe she had done the 'impossible' and broke his shell back when they first met. Maybe him caring for her for the first couple weeks they'd known each other had made him gentler and more caring of others. Noticing that she was staring at him as they reached the next floor, Naruto glanced around in confusion for a moment before eyeing her awkwardly, his ears pinned back. "What's with that look? What are you thinking about over there?"

"Oh, nothing..." Haku sighed out with a small smile as she slipped back under his arm like before, forcing him to keep walking as they entered another of the identical looking hallways that littered the entire structure. "Just thinking about the love of my life."

"Mnn..." Naruto groaned quietly as he looked off to the side, his flushed cheeks hidden beneath his fur. Even still, Haku smiled lovingly as she felt two tails curl around her, running across her rear before hooking around her hip. Giggling softly, Haku gently pet the part of his tail at her hip, only for her cheeks to burn crimson as she leaned into him more, holding herself against his side more firmly. His hand had slid down from her hip to cup her rear, his hand hidden beneath his tails. At first, she hadn't thought much of it, but that was before he started squeezing.

"N-Naru...N-Not here." Haku quietly hissed at him with a slight glare, even though she was lightly nibbling on her bottom lip with a coy smile hidden by her top's high collar. Getting only a faint smirk from him, Haku grabbed his wrist and forced his hand back up to her hip. As he rubbed her side, she couldn't resist sighing quietly in contentment while melting against his side. She was happy with how her life had turned out. She was glad Naruto had stopped her from killing herself so long ago. She would have missed out on so much if she had succeeded that night. "Just wait until we get back home, but you have to behave yourself until then..."

"Feh..." Naruto huffed with mock annoyance before burying his nose in her hair, inhaling her scent with a tender smile on his face. Haku smiled more brightly as she leaned up to give him a tender little kiss on the lips, only to giggle quietly as Naruto's whiskers tickled her nose. Rubbing her nose with her free hand, Haku nuzzled her cheek against Naruto's shoulder again, a beaming grin on her face that was hidden by her high collar.

If she had commited suicide that night, she wouldn't have gotten to know the love of her life. She wouldn't have learned what real love was. She wouldn't have learned what real happiness was. She wouldn't have become friends with Sakura. She wouldn't have learned what it was like to live a normal life. Even if Zabuza had survived the fight and they continued traveling together, Haku knew now that she wouldn't have learned any of the things she knew now. Of course, there was always that random chance that she could have still experienced such things at some other point in her life, but Haku couldn't imagine herself with anyone other than Naruto now. Over the last eight months alone, they had invested so much in each other, emotionally and physically, that nothing would ever separate them.

"Here we go." Naruto mumbled quietly to himself as they reached the room, reluctantly detaching from each other as they neared the door. Before he could grab the door handle, however, it suddenly opened on its own. "Sakura?"

"Oh, Naruto, Haku!" Sakura greeted with a friendly smile as she quietly shut the door behind her, briefly hugging Haku for a moment before stepping back and tucking one of her bangs behind an ear. "If you're here for Sasuke-kun, he hasn't woken up yet. The doctors say he's in a very minor coma right now, but they said he should wake up and make a full recovery in the next week or so."

"Hmm...I hope his moody ass wakes up soon." Naruto mumbled quietly as he crossed his arms over his chest, grimacing slightly as he turned his gaze down towards the floor for a moment. "I miss having an actual sparring partner..."

"Hey! What about me?" Haku growled at him, lightly prodding him in the side with a senbon needle, eliciting a quiet yelp from Naruto as he jerked away from her with a weak glare. "Which reminds me, we haven't sparred in a while."

"I told you already, I've been too busy recently..." Naruto grumbled, pouting slightly as he rubbed his side where she'd poked him. Smirking slightly, Sakura shook her head at them with a laugh, distracting the pair.

"Hehe! You two argue like an old married couple, you know that?" Sakura laughed out, getting twin looks of embarrassment as they looked in opposite directions with Haku looking bashful while Naruto was doing a mixture of pouting and glaring at the wall. "Hey, I promised Ino that we'd hang out after I visited Sasuke-kun, so I have to go, okay? Did you still want to meet up tomorrow morning, Haku?"

"Well, I...kind of have plans tomorrow." Haku answered, momentarily ignoring Naruto's subtle look of confusion. "I'll let you know when I'm free again, though."

"Alright. Have a good day, you two." Sakura gave in parting as she walked away, leaving the pair behind.

"What was she talking about?" Naruto mumbled curiously, jabbing a thumb in the direction Sakura had gone. Haku smiled sheepishly as she fussed with her collar for a moment.

"I've kind of been teaching her the basics of Muon Satsujin. Partly to spice up her taijutsu a little bit and..." Haku trailed off for a moment, her voice dropping in volume as she continued, staring off to the side. "And to try making her a little quieter. She was too loud for my liking..."

"...Someone finally managed to get the Pink Banshee to shut up. Thank god." Naruto sighed out exaggeratedly, getting a weird look from Haku. Laughing for a moment, he hooked two tails around Haku's hips again as he uncrossed his arms and wrapped one around her waist, the pair starting to walk as he explained himself. "Everyone used to call Sakura the Pink Banshee back in the Academy because of how loud she was. Kind of mean, but it fit her too well. On the other hand, none of us were brave enough to call her that to her face. She tends to get violent when people piss her off."

"...How long have you all known each other?" Haku asked curiously, looking up at him.

"Eh...I met everyone back when I was nine, so...Going on eight years now, I'd say." Naruto responded with a slight shrug, surprising Haku a little bit. "Geez...It's been that long already, huh? We've come a long way from the annoying little brats we used to be..."

"Hey. Don't go getting lost in the nostalgia now." Haku teased lightly, poking his cheek playfully. Naruto only scoffed with a roll of his eyes as they exited the hospital, heading back in the general direction of their apartment. "We aren't that old yet."

"Nostalgia? Are you crazy? I hated those days." Naruto retorted with a grimace; he wasn't lying, either. He had to put up with so much bullshit back then. The villagers' hatred, getting bullied by half of his classmates and most of the other students, dealing with the biased teachers and staff, and that was just what other people put him through. That didn't include what he put _himself_ through back then. Self-hate was a terrible thing. "My childhood wasn't a happy one, both before _and_ after the bullshit that is my body. If anything, I was a mean and angsty little shit back then. As tempermental as I am, I'm a fucking angel compared to the fiendish little bastard I used to be."

"Stop cussing so much!" Haku hissed under her breath with a slight glare, lightly digging a knuckle into his ribs enough to cause him some discomfort, making him lean away in return without pulling away from her. Getting only an indignant huff in return a moment later, Haku pouted slightly, glaring at him a little more intently. "Mmnn...I'm gonna kick your ass if we ever have kids and they start talking like that because of you."

Naruto went silent as he looked away, pouting quite noticably even though his cheeks were burning red beneath his fur. Feeling his hand gently squeeze her hip as he held her a bit tighter, Haku couldn't help blushing a little bit as well, leaning into his side more fully at the thought of them starting a family. Sakura was right; they really did bicker like a married couple. Maybe not an old one, but a married couple nonetheless...and it made her heart swell with joy at the thought. Lightly chewing her bottom lip with a small, hopeful smile, Haku hoped they had the chance to have a baby one day. At least a couple more years down the line, just long enough for them to at least get themselves financially stable...and moved into a bigger place than the tiny little apartment they currently lived in...

"Hey, you hungry?" Naruto inquired, snapping Haku out of her little daydream and making her look up at him in time to see him grimace a little heavily, eyeing a food stand and sniffing the air hungrily as they walked by it. "I'm starving. I haven't eaten since dinner last night..."

"I'm sorry. When you said you were taking me to see the Hokage, I got so excited and nervous that I forgot to make us something to eat before we left..." Haku sheepishly explained, an awkward and apologetic smile tugging at her lips. Snorting slightly, Naruto shook his head at her response. Having slept in a little bit that morning, he had actually thought it was kind of cute how she was frantically rushing around the apartment, trying to get ready after he said he wanted to introduce her to Tsunade and look into getting her started on becoming a teacher.

"Feh...It's fine. I've had to go longer without eating before." Naruto mumbled dismissively as he kissed the top of her head. "So, what do you want?"

"...We could go to Ichiraku's." Haku suggested, not really knowing many other places. Even after eight months, Haku still wasn't all that familiar with Konoha yet; she really needed to get out more. "We haven't gone there in a while and Ayame was asking about you when I stopped by last week."

"Eh...We're not too far away right now and it's pretty close to the apartment." Naruto mumbled in agreement, lightly nudging the side of her head with his nose as he lightly nipped her ear, smirking as Haku grinned coyly, nuzzling his shoulder once more. "Ichiraku's, it is..."

"Mmm...I'm gonna hurt you, boy..." Haku whispered playfully, blushing again as his hand dropped back to her butt, his tails masterfully hiding the appendage as he firmly squeezed her left cheek. Gasping slightly as his hand shifted a little lower after a moment, Haku bit down on her bottom lip while holding on to Naruto a little more tightly, trying to ignore his finger tips as they teasingly brushed against her crotch from behind. Digging her nails into his hip, Haku stifled a quiet moan as he pressed against her clothed entrance before glaring at him heatedly, but the lust in her eyes was quite obvious to him as she put her free hand on his chest, lightly pulling on his fur as her breathing grew heavy. "D-Damn it, K-Kitsune-kun. Not...Not in pu-public."

Naruto simply grinned mischievously for a moment before kissing her on the lips for a moment, the pair drawing closer to the ramen stand that was Ichiraku's...

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"As much as I...enjoy getting woken up like this..." Haku gasped out, struggling to catch her breath as Naruto held her from behind, the pair having yet to get out of bed with the thin sheets pulled up over the lower halves of their naked bodies. "You're going to...make me pass out with exhaustion...if we keep going like this."

"Mmm...That sounds like a challenge..." Naruto teasingly whispered in her ear as he gently kissed the side of her neck, getting a quiet mewl out of her as she leaned back against him more, her eyes closing with blissful contentment. Feeling her shiver as his teeth lightly grazed the sensitive flesh of her neck, Naruto cupped her breast and squeezed it slowly and gently, earning him a quiet whimpering moan from Haku as she started to writhe with euphoria.

"N-No, it's...It's not..." Haku whispered breathlessly, leaning her head back a little more as she turned her upper body a little more, giving him better access to her throat and chest. Despite her words, her body was starting to ache with a hungering need for him once more, her actions contradicting her half-hearted defiance. Feeling his hardened member pressing against her from behind, Haku could only moan once more, savoring the feeling of his fang-like canines as they teasingly grazed her throat again; she'd never realized just how much she enjoyed it whenever he did that until after the first few times. She enjoyed it so much that almost any time he did it to her, she could no longer resist temptation...and now was no different.

Reaching up with one hand, Haku ran her fingers along the side and back of Naruto's neck before tightly gripping his dense fur along the back of his head with a throaty moan as he bit down, her eyes rolling into the back of her head as he started sucking immediately after. Pushing her hips back a little bit, Haku wordlessly encouraged him to keep going. Apart from their errands yesterday, they had been unable to keep their hands to themselves for the past twenty-four hours since he woke her up upon his return to the village. The only reason they had even gone to sleep at a reasonable time last night was because they had worn each other out to the point of passing out...and she didn't care.

If anything, she couldn't get enough of him...

"Na-Naru...Stop...Stop teasing. Please. I can't...I can't take...much more..." She whispered breathlessly as she moved her hips slightly, still gripping the back of his head and neck as he sucked on her throat, still biting down on the supple flesh. Breath hitching in her throat, Haku's spine arched pleasurably with a horny moan as he slid into her from behind. Surrending herself to him, Haku could only moan in ecstacy as he lifted her into a more upright sitting or kneeling position without detaching from her. As he released her throat, Haku kept her head leaned to the side as he slowly thrust in and out of her, covering his hand on her breast with her own as he kept fondling the globe of fatty tissue and soft muscle.

Growling quietly in her ear, Naruto bit down on her shoulder at the base of her neck while his free hand slid from Haku's hip to her stomach, only to lightly drag his claws along the ultra-sensitive flesh above her entrance. Instantly, Haku whimpered with pleasure, gripping the fur on his head and neck more desperately as he started thrusting a little deeper up into her. Purposefully going slow to torture her, sexually, Naruto could only growl a little louder as Haku started moaning louder with lustful need. The moment his clawed finger tips brushed against her clitoris and the parted lips of her entrace, Haku's whimpering moans grew even louder, her hand moving from his to her unoccupied breast as he teasingly rubbed the hyper-sensitive nub of flesh and nerve endings.

Feeling her pleasure climb to greater and greater heights, Haku no longer cared about the time or the fact that she was going to be meeting with Tsunade in a couple hours or how they hadn't used protection once since he came back. All she cared about was her beloved Kitsune-kun and what he was doing to her. Even as the knot in her core built up into a raging inferno of ecstacy, Haku only held on to him as she started bucking her hips in perfect rhythm with his, even as a cry of orgasmic bliss clawed its way out of her as her strongest climax to date rushed through her body like the crushing waves of a tsunami.

"Ki-Ki-Kitsune-kun! Ha-Harder! Please!" Haku pleaded desperately as she gasped for breath, her eyes squeezed shut as they teared up from the intensity of her orgasm. Crying out with ecstacy once again as her lover started thrusting more forcefully, Haku felt her mind grow hazy with her lust and desire, only for a starburst of lights to fill her vision as Naruto continuously jabbed against her 'g-spot', causing another powerful orgasm to ripple through her body just seconds after her previous one. As she shook with pleasurable convulsions, Naruto finally released Haku's shoulder while letting go of her breast, only to turn her head as much as possible. Slipping his tongue into her mouth, Naruto kissed her with as much passion as he could muster, pouring all of his love for her into the liplock, his own climax fast approaching.

Unable to hold it back any longer, Naruto thrust as deep into Haku as possible before releasing his seed inside of her, getting one last long and throaty moan from her. Although slower and calmer than before, their tongues continued to dance as they stayed where they were, letting their bodies rest for the moment. As his hand slid back up from her crotch to her stomach while his other hand rested on her hip, Naruto simply held her as she released the scruff of his neck and gently caressed the side of his head and cheek. Finally breaking the kiss, Naruto slowly pulled out of her, letting Haku relax against him fully as she leaned back, burying her face against the side of his neck lovingly.

"I love you...so much, Kitsune-kun..." Haku whispered quietly amongst her labored breathing, both of them winded and weakened from their repeated love making. Smiling tiredly, Naruto slipped an arm behind Haku's knees before shifting her position so that she was sitting in his lap sideways, cradling her against him in his arms.

"And I love you, Usagi-chan..." Naruto whispered back as Haku weakly lifted her head and tilted his head down for another tender kiss. Resting his forehead against hers, Naruto smiled more lovingly, their eyes closed as they basked in the aftermath of their coupling. "Forever and always."

"Mm-hm...Forever and always." Haku whispered back before playfully nudging his nose with her own, getting a quiet breath of laughter from her vulpine lover. Leaning her head against Naruto's shoulder with her nose buried in his fur, Haku inhaled his scent with a content smile as she finally managed to catch her breath. "Mmm...We both need a shower, but because of you, I can't feel my legs..."

"Hm...Well, I guess I'm just going to have to take responsibility and clean you up myself, now aren't I?" Naruto questioned rhetorically with a flirty smirk as he nudged her cheek with his nose, getting a quiet giggle from Haku as his whiskers tickled her a little. Not waiting for an answer, Naruto moved to the edge of the bed before slowly standing up with Haku in his arms still. As he went to the bathroom, Haku nibbled on her bottom lip with a small, sultry smirk as she slowly ran her fingers through the fur on his chest and up along his neck.

Even as worn out as she was, Haku could feel the fire of desire burning inside of her still. She didn't know why either of them were suddenly so horny, but she didn't care. She was thoroughly enjoying their time together. Whatever it was, she actually hoped it stuck around a little bit longer. She really couldn't get enough of him. As he sat her down for a moment to get the shower started, Haku wondered if she had enough strength left in her for one last round without passing out. Feeling those 'flames' burn just a little hotter than before, Haku didn't care if she did or not. She wanted...No, she _needed_ him inside of her again, just one more time. Only then would she be satisfied...

"Alright, let's get you cleaned up, hm?" Naruto teased lightly as he came back over to pick her up, only for Haku to wrap her arms around his neck and pull him down. Forcing her tongue into his mouth, Haku kissed him deeply and lovingly, getting him to pause for a moment as she purposefully tried to get him worked up again. Even going so far as to reach down with one hand and gently stroke him, Haku smirked faintly against Naruto's lips as she felt him start to swell and stiffen at her touch. After a moment, Naruto deepened the kiss further, understanding what she wanted and being in full agreeance with her wishes. Picking her up, Naruto held her against his body, supporting her with his hands under her rear as she weakly tried to wrap her legs around his waist.

"Just...Just one last time, baby..." Haku whispered breathlessly as she broke the kiss for a moment, her arousal spiking even higher while her heart raced with excitement and desire. "I...I can take it. Please..."

"Anything you say, dear..." Naruto whispered back a bit teasingly as he stepped under the warm water spraying from the shower head, gently pinning Haku against the wall as he slowly lowered her down on to his member. Whimpering quietly, Haku buried her face against his neck as she gasped for breath, already on the verge of having a mini-orgasm as he sheathed himself inside of her. Lifting her head back up, Haku held the sides of Naruto's head as she hungrily captured his lips once again, moaning quietly as her beloved started to slowly and gently thrust into her.

She didn't care if she did pass out afterwards. Tsunade could wait. Her love for Naruto, however, couldn't. She didn't care if she ended up getting pregnant in the end; she knew they'd figure it all out when the time came, no matter what. She just wanted to feel that thick warmth flood her insides again...

xXxXxXx

"So...What happened to coming by in the morning?" Tsunade questioned light-heartedly, giving Haku a knowing smirk as the young woman fidgeted awkwardly in the chair in front of her. From the moment Haku had stepped into her office, Tsunade knew exactly why the poor girl was walking with a very noticable limp. Her hair was still a bit damp from a recent shower, she still seemed a little dazed from lingering sensations, and the way Haku looked down and to the side out of embarrassment only cemented Tsunade's thoughts on the matter.

"I-I'm sorry for being late, Hokage-sama...I, uh...I slept in a little longer than I had anticipated." Haku mumbled out shyly, her cheeks a dark crimson behind the collar of her top as she nervously fussed with the sash around her waist; she and Naruto had actually gone for another two rounds instead of one before she finally got around to cleaning herself up. They'd settled for a bath in the end, giving Haku time to relax her aching muscles as she sipped at an herbal tea of her own making to help recover her lost strength. If she hadn't drank the medicinal tea, Haku knew for a fact that she wouldn't have been able to walk to the bathroom door, let alone to meet with Tsunade.

Even still, she made Naruto carry her to the administration building, just in case...

"Slept in, huh?" Tsunade mumbled, still smirking as Haku fussed with her collar, unknowingly flashing a glimpse of the 'necklace' of dark hickies she bore across her throat because of Naruto. Shaking her head at their antics, Tsunade picked up a folder that was set off to the side on her desk before setting it down in front of Haku. Although a little confused, Haku hesitantly reached over and picked it up before looking through its contents. After only a few seconds, though, Haku looked up at Tsunade with surprise clearly written across her face, realizing what it was. Smiling still, Tsunade nodded her head in confirmation. "Report to the Academy next week for your interview and orientation. From there, they'll get you set up with everything you'll need to know and what you'll have to do in order to get started. Your foot is in the door now, Haku. Don't waste this opportunity."

"H-Hai! I won't!" Haku exclaimed with a beaming grin before standing up a little hastily, her legs nearly giving out from under her in the process. Bowing deeply a moment later, Haku straightened back up with misty eyes, but her smile didn't fade in the slightest. "Th-Thank you so much, Hokage-sama! I'll do my best!"

"Good because that's all I'll accept." Tsunade returned, still smirking. She had no doubt in her mind that Haku would keep her word. Reaching into a drawer, Tsunade pulled out the Konoha hitai-ate she had acquired yesterday afternoon before passing it to Haku. "Here. You're going to need this...and just so you're aware, I'll be testing your actual fighting skills soon. I want to make sure you're as skilled as you claim to be, so use your time wisely and train while you can."

"H-Hai, Hokage-sama!" Haku exclaimed, still too excited from her newfound dream finally coming within her reach. After getting a dismissive wave from the woman, Haku didn't waste time leaving the office, bowing once more to Tsunade before she even opened the door. Leaning against the wall not too far down the hall, Naruto opened his eyes and looked up just in time for Haku to lunge at him, wrapping her arms around him with the biggest smile on her face that he had ever seen her with. Squealing happily into Naruto's chest to muffle it, Haku couldn't resist nearly bouncing with energy as she pulled back, only to smash her lips against Naruto's in an unexpected kiss.

"Haha! Settle down, will you?" Naruto laughed out as he caught Haku just as her legs gave out from under her. Blushing, Haku grinned sheepishly, still struggling to contain her joy. "When do you start?"

"I-I got an interview and orientation at the Academy in a week and they're going to help me with everything I'll need to do and know to get started!" Haku blurted out happily, still surprising Naruto with just how much energy she really had. Even after everything they'd done that morning. He'd never seen her so excited about anything before and it made him happy knowing that she was happy. That was when Haku held up the hitai-ate she'd been given, grinning cheekily as she playfully stuck her tongue out. "Academy, here I come!"

"Just what did you put in that tea of yours, Haku?" Naruto teased with a shake of his head, getting another sheepish grin from her as she stepped back a little. "Geez...You're more hyper than a kid on a sugar rush."

"Ehehe...S-Sorry." Haku laughed nervously, fussing with her collar awkwardly as she apologized...

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

A/N: Okay, so I am fully aware that this chapter turned out pretty smutty, but I actually did that on purpose, believe it or not. I also wanted to focus a little more on Haku this time around and I hope I did her justice with how I'm portraying her character in this story. While I'm pretty sure a good number of y'all will figure out a couple of the things I'm setting up for future chapters, but that's only because I'm kind of...obliviously obvious some times. Anyways, before I spoil anything, I hope everyone enjoyed the new chapter!


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